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VICTORIA — British Columbia is not pleased with U.S. softwood lumber policy.

Provincial Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Katrine Conroy and Minister of State for Trade George Chow have voiced their disappointment with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s second administrative review and its preliminary determination regarding countervailing and anti-dumping duties applied to Canada’s softwood lumber exports to the U.S.

“B.C. is frustrated and very concerned about the continued effect these unjustified punitive duties are having on our forest sector and on the families in communities throughout B.C. whose livelihoods depend on it. These unfair U.S. duties have been compounding the costs for construction, resulting in rising housing costs on both sides of the border. If the duties go up even more, so will the cost of housing and construction,” Conroy and Chow said in a joint statement.

“Higher duties on Canadian softwood lumber not only hurt B.C. and Canadian businesses, they are a tax on consumers, including homebuyers in the U.S., that makes housing less affordable for American families and threatens post-pandemic economic recovery. Now, more than ever, it’s essential to keep supply chains open for both sides of the border as Canada and the U.S. enter the next, post-vaccination phase of our economic recovery. We need open and stable supply chains for both countries to prosper during recovery, not trade barriers.”

The ministers added they will continue to work with the federal government to challenge the duties through the World Trade Organization and Canada-U.S.-Mexico dispute settlement systems.