U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced new tariffs, scheduled to take effect on Oct. 14, that are expected to further impact the softwood lumber and furniture sectors in Canada.
According to a Canadian Press article published on Sept. 30, 2025, a presidential proclamation on Sept. 22 set out a 10 per cent duty on imports of softwood timber and lumber, alongside a 25 per cent levy on imports of kitchen cabinets and vanities as well as other upholstered wooden products.
The new tariffs are in addition to any other duties previously applied to imported wood products, and come following a report delivered to Trump by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Trump stated a probe by Lutnick “found wood products were being imported into the U.S. in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States,” the article reported.
The British Columbia Lumber Trade Council has called the new tariffs “misguided and unnecessary.”
“These tariffs will not improve U.S. national security — they will only drive-up lumber costs, making housing even less affordable for American families and undermining the integrated trade relationship that benefits both our countries,” said council president Kurt Niquidet in a statement.
The Canadian Press article noted that last month, the U.S. Commerce Department announced plans to almost triple duties on Canadian softwood lumber to a little over 20 per cent.
“Expanding the scope of this action to include products like furniture and kitchen cabinetry is reckless, harmful to the economy, and further destabilizes the broader North American forest sector supply chain,” said Derek Nighbor, president and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada.
Canada dropped two legal challenges of U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber in early September, noted the Canadian Press article.
Back in August, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised an aid package for the lumber industry that included $700 million in loan guarantees and $500 million for long-term supports to help companies diversify export markets as well as develop their products.
In response to the new tariffs, the Wood Manufacturing Cluster of Ontario is calling on both Federal and Provincial governments to mandate a made-in-Canada policy for cabinetry, furniture, and Canadian manufactured softwood components to be included in the government-sponsored housing initiatives for the domestic market.
“These latest tariffs imposed under Section 232, claiming that our products threaten the security of the United States, are unjustified. This is a lose-lose scenario. These tariffs will have a devastating impact on companies that export to the United States. They will also disrupt the North American housing sector supply chain, raise costs for housing in the United States, and destroy the shared prosperity an integrated trade relationship provides,” said the Wood Manufacturing Cluster of Ontario in a release.
“Organizations like the Wood Manufacturing Cluster of Ontario work hard to support our industry to thrive and be sustainable. This can only be achieved with effective foreign policy that puts Canadian companies on a level and fair playing field with trading countries.”
– With files from The Canadian Press
