Canadian forests minister says U.S. relationship 'changed forever' amid Trump tariffs

Record ID: 1984085

  • Title: Canadian forests minister says U.S. relationship 'changed forever' amid Trump tariffs
  • Date: 13th March 2025
  • Summary: VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA (MARCH 12, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH COLUMBIA MINISTER OF FORESTS RAVI PARMAR, SAYING: "But again, I heard very clearly that California, a state that predominantly elects Democrats, is going through a really tough time right now. And they recognize that when they're looking at dealing with the housing crisis, they alre
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: BRITISH COLUMBIA MINISTER OF FORESTS CANADIAN LOGGING LUMBER TARIFFS PRESIDENT TRUMP TIMBER INDUSTRY TRADE WAR
  • Location: VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA/ YOUNG LAKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA/ REVELSTOKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA/ DOWNIE CREEK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA/ BIG MOUTH CREEK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
  • City: VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA/ YOUNG LAKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA/ REVELSTOKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA/ DOWNIE CREEK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA/ BIG MOUTH CREEK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
  • Country: Canada
  • Topics: North America,Government/Politics,International Trade
  • Reuters ID: LVA008842413032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: U.S. President Donald Trump has made numerous tariff threats since returning to office on January 20, ranging from a universal duty on imports to targeted tariffs on specific sectors or countries, in a bid to get others to meet his policy demands.
    Trump on March 1 ordered a new trade investigation that could heap more tariffs on imported lumber, adding to existing duties on Canadian softwood lumber and 25% tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican goods.
    A White House fact sheet said the order calls for new or updated agency guidance to facilitate increased timber production, including quicker approvals for forestry projects under the Endangered Species Act.
    "If there's one thing that we've learned from the threat of President Trump's tariffs is our relationship with the United States has changed forever,” Canadian Forests Minister for British Columbia, Ravi Parmar, said in an interview on Wednesday (March 12).
    Parmar explained that Canada’s market share will decline, and the U.S. supply ‘hasn’t technically increased’, while Russian lumber will now enter the U.S. market with ‘zero penalties’.
    "This tariff, this tax, is really a tax on middle class Americans. Middle class Americans who just want to build homes in their communities, and middle class Americans who at a time in their dealing with wildfires, floods and hurricanes, are going to have to pay more, in some cases 20 to 30 to 40% more just to build their home or rebuild their home." said Parmar.
    Parmar recently visited California, and told Reuters that when speaking with the California Building Industry Association he learned there’s an overwhelming need for Canadian lumber to rebuild homes in the aftermath of the the wildfires that occurred in Los Angeles earlier this year.
    “They're going to need the help of the president to do that through FEMA support and other mechanisms. But also, they're going to need Canadian lumber. They're going to need British Columbian lumber.” he said.
    For those living in his province, Parmar is imploring to think about the implications of lumber tariffs.
    British Columbia was built based off of the forest sector. We still rely heavily on the revenue from the forest sector to pay for our schools, our health care, our way of life, our social services. And so when British Columbia's forest sector thrives, British Columbia thrives."
    A White House official said on March 1 that an investigation would be expedited by the Commerce Department regarding U.S. lumber imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, but gave no specific timeline.
    Trump also ordered new steps to increase the domestic supply of lumber by streamlining the permitting process for harvesting lumber from public lands and improving the salvage of fallen trees from forests and waterways, the official said.
    (Production: Matt McKnight)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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