At the end of January, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its third preliminary finding to reduce tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber imports into the U.S. from 17.99% to 11.64%. In the wake of the announcement, Chuck Fowke, chair of the the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) issued the following statement:

“NAHB welcomes the Biden administration’s move to reduce duties from 17.99% to 11.64% on softwood lumber shipments from Canada into the U.S. Reducing these tariffs is an important step forward to addressing America’s growing housing affordability crisis and easing extreme price swings in the lumber market that have added more than $18,600 to the price of a new home since late summer.

“To help further address the nation’s housing affordability challenges, we encourage the Biden administration to build on today’s positive development by taking the following actions: enter into negotiations with Canada to achieve a new softwood lumber agreement that will eliminate duties; increase the domestic supply of timber from public lands in an environmentally responsible manner; and seek immediate remedies to the lumber and building materials supply chain that will increase production and lower construction costs.”