U.S. Lumber Coalition Responds to Governor Healey Misstatements Regarding Softwood Lumber
Such misleading and false statements have been repeatedly debunked by NAHB's own data and ignore the facts on the ground.
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Massachusetts Governor Healey recently echoed misleading talking points by Canada and the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) that U.S. duties and tariffs against unfairly traded Canadian lumber imports cause housing pricing affordability issues. Such misleading and false statements have been repeatedly debunked by NAHB's own data and ignore the facts on the ground.
The U.S. Lumber Coalition is urging Governor Healey to reconsider siding with Canada and its well known and documented unfair and harmful trade practices against hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers, thousands of U.S. forestry dependent communities, millions of private U.S. landowners, and hundreds of U.S. lumber companies who provide more than 75 percent and climbing of the softwood lumber needed to build U.S. homes.
'Governor Healey, like all U.S. governors, should be for U.S. industry and workers, and should understand the facts before taking sides with foreign industries and countries engaged in unfair trade practices against the United States,' stated Zoltan van Heyningen, Executive Director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition.
'Had Governor Healey and her staff done their research before her unfortunate remarks, they would have understood that softwood lumber prices have been lower, not higher, since the imposition of higher duties and President Trump's additional 10 percent tariff on lumber. Supply and demand, not trade law enforcement and targeted tariff measures against unfairly traded lumber imports, determine lumber prices,' continued van Heyningen.
'The Governor and her staff would do well to understand that U.S. lumber production capacity has increased by over 8 billion board feet since 2016 when duties and later tariffs went into effect, with U.S. producers supplying over 36 billion additional board feet of American-made lumber to build American homes. Furthermore, it is Canadian softwood lumber companies who pay virtually all of the duties and tariffs, not U.S. consumers. The cost of lumber makes up less than 2 percent of the total cost of a new home, and hence never has and never will be a factor in housing affordability. In fact, lumber prices have been so depressed that builder companies have boasted in their earnings calls that they will try to use those low prices to their advantage when negotiating deals for the coming year,' elaborated van Heyningen.
'An attack on trade law enforcement and common sense targeted tariff policy such as the 10 percent lumber tariffs is an attack on U.S. workers, U.S. companies, and their communities. And we will speak up to defend ourselves against any such attacks and against all Canadian and foreign unfair trade practices,' added van Heyningen.
Courtesy: www.prnewswire.com