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Lawmakers Urge Bush to End Lumber Tariffs
Standing up for housing affordability and millions of consumers who are feeling the pinch of high lumber prices, scores of congressional lawmakers sent a letter to President Bush last week urging the Administration to eliminate duties on Canadian lumber shipments into the U.S.
“The nation’s home builders applaud the 47 members of the U.S. House of Representatives who are seeking to rescind punitive tariffs of over 20% on lumber imports that have forced American home buyers to absorb billions of dollars in added costs,” said NAHB President Dave Wilson.
House Republican Whip Roy Blount (R-Mo.), Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) and Ways and Means Committee member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) asked their colleagues to join them in sending a message to the White House that unwarranted lumber tariffs are harming housing affordability.
“Imposing duties on Canadian lumber is a tax on American home buyers,” the letter stated. “Current duties can add as much as $1,000 to the price of a new home. While many may see this as a small percentage of the overall home buying cost, it eliminates hundreds of thousands of families from mortgage eligibility at current lumber prices.”
The U.S. government imposed trade restraints on softwood lumber in May of 2002, charging that the Canadian industry represented a “threat” to domestic lumber producers.
Canada has since filed appeals to overturn the duties before North American Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Organization panels, and has received several rulings in its favor.
Most recently, a NAFTA arbitration panel comprised of three Americans and two Canadians voted unanimously last summer to end the lumber tariffs and return nearly $4 billion in duties to Canada. However, the Commerce Department, at the behest of the U.S. lumber lobby, filed an “extraordinary challenge” legal appeal that observers believe was intended to delay the final outcome, keep the tariffs in place and force the Canadians to accept a negotiated settlement that would lead to new trade barriers.
“Essential to a strong housing market is the U.S. construction industry’s access to a reliable supply of softwood lumber because sufficient quantities and appropriate substitutes do not exist in the U.S. for the type of lumber manufactured in Canada,” House members noted in their correspondence to Bush. “Access to Canadian lumber supplies are currently jeopardized by anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties of more than 20%.”
Lawmakers urged the President to direct the Commerce Department and the Office of the United States Trade Representative to “comply with the international agreements the U.S. has signed,” adding that the “current duties, which have been found illegal under both the WTO and NAFTA, deprive Americans of affordable housing, the first step in the American dream. The border taxes should be stopped at once, and past payments given back.”
For more information, e-mail Michael Strauss at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8252.
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