October 1,2025
RED FM News Desk
Premier David Eby called it “completely absurd” that British Columbia’s softwood lumber exports to the United States are subject to higher duties than the same product from Russia.
Eby said the softwood lumber sector is “under direct attack” after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 10 per cent tariff on imported softwood lumber starting Oct. 14. This new levy pushes total import taxes on Canadian softwood lumber entering the U.S. to more than 45 per cent, while Russian lumber remains exempt from U.S. reciprocal tariffs, despite ongoing Western sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said the U.S. must choose whether it wants to do business with British Columbia or with Russia, whose president, Vladimir Putin, has been actively courted by Trump with promises of various resource deals.
Eby and Parmar made these statements while announcing the construction of a new high school in Langford, B.C.
The United States implemented the latest tariffs under its Trade Expansion Act, which allows duties to be imposed on national security grounds—a justification Parmar called “ludicrous.”
Eby noted that the provincial government is collaborating with the federal government to distribute $1.2 billion in financial aid for Canadian lumber producers, first announced in August, while also seeking a resolution to the softwood lumber dispute as part of a broader trade agreement with the U.S.
Parmar added that the government is working to diversify export markets to Asia, including India, Japan, and South Korea.
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