U.S. in final decision to hike Canadian softwood duties, tells officers to collect

The U.S. Department of Commerce says it has made a final decision to more than double countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber imports, a move business groups in British Columbia say will harm communities on both sides of the border.

A statement from the American department said the duty for most Canadian companies is being increased to 14.63 per cent, up from 6.74 per cent, after it determined softwood lumber from Canada was being unfairly subsidized.

The increase is on top of a recent jump in anti-dumping duties to 20.56 per cent, bring the total duty level for Canadian softwood to 35.19 per cent.

The department says it will now instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to begin collecting the money.

B.C’s Forests Minister Ravi Parmar called the increase “absurd and reckle