 | Softwood Lumber |
Softwood lumber is one of Canada's largest exports to the United States,
with 21.5 billion board feet of lumber shipped in 2005 alone. Those exports
were worth $8.5 billion and they continue to comprise an important element
of the largest trading relationship in the world.
This trade matters to both Canadians and Americans. Canada’s forestry
sector employs approximately 280,000 Canadians, and roughly 300 communities
are dependent upon the forestry sector. U.S. lumber producers cannot meet
domestic demand for softwood lumber: consequently, Canada now supplies
over a third of the United States' consumption of this product. The U.S.
housing and other industries, which employ over 7 million American workers,
have come to rely upon unfettered access to this quality product.
Canada's softwood lumber industry does not operate at the expense of
our environment. In fact, a study by Auburn University in Alabama ranked
our forestry practices at a higher level for environmental protection
than the United States. Canada only harvests one half of one percent of
our commercial forests each year. We grow twice as much as is harvested.
Almost one half of Canada's forests will never be harvested.
Resolving the softwood lumber dispute has been one of Canada's top trade
priorities. To this end, on September 12, 2006, Canada and the United
States signed the Softwood Lumber Agreement. This Agreement will promote
a stable trade environment for the softwood lumber industry, see the return
of most of the duties collected, and maximize the benefits to Canadian
industry and to its workers and communities.
Return to the Softwood Lumber main page
|
