Softwood Lumber Trade Dispute

British Columbia and the forest industry have been engaged for decades with the United States in ongoing Softwood Lumber trade litigation. The 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement provided stability and predictability until its expiry on October 12, 2015, triggering the latest round in the lumber dispute.

On this page:

• Current state of Softwood Lumber trade with the U.S.
• Recent news
• Current rates

Current state of Softwood Lumber trade with the U.S.

On November 25, 2016, the Committee Overseeing Action for Lumber International Trade Investigations or Negotiations ( “COALITION”) filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce, alleging Canadian lumber is unfairly subsidized and dumped into the U.S. market, launching the “Lumber V” proceedings. B.C. is well prepared to respond to this litigation and will continue to defend B.C.'s interests against these unfounded allegations. B.C. is working alongside the federal government, other Provinces and the forest industry to respond to the ongoing litigation that imposes countervailing duties and anti-dumping duties on Canadian lumber. We also seek recourse through appeals to the US Court of International Trade, the World Trade Organization, and under the Canada/US/Mexico Agreement (formerly NAFTA).

• Additional Lumber V update information may be found on the Government of Canada website
• Learn more about the current litigation
• Learn more about the appeals challenges and decisions

Recent news

April 4, 2025: AR6 Preliminary Countervailing Duty Result

The U.S. Department of Commerce released its preliminary determination for the sixth administrative review (AR6) of countervailing (CVD) duties on certain softwood lumber products from Canada. 

The preliminary determination does not have any impact on current duties or cash deposit rates. Rates will not change until the U.S. Department of Commerce issues its final determination, expected in August 2025. The preliminary determination rates are listed in the table below. See the U.S. Federal Register Notice for preliminary results of the CVD (PDF, 280KB) review.

• Government of British Columbia Statement 

If the preliminary determination rates for both countervailing duties and antidumping duties (announced in March) are upheld in the final determinations, the following table shows the rates that companies could expect to be subject to later this summer:

March 3, 2025: AR6 Preliminary Antidumping Result

The U.S. Department of Commerce released its preliminary determination for the sixth administrative review (AR6) of antidumping (AD) duties on certain softwood lumber products from Canada. 

The preliminary determination does not have any impact on current duties or cash deposit rates. Rates will not change until the U.S. Department of Commerce issues its final determination, expected in August 2025. The preliminary determination rates are listed in the table below. See the U.S. Federal Register Notice for preliminary results of the AD (PDF, 171KB) review. 

• Government of British Columbia Statement 

February 21, 2025: AR7 Initiation Notice 

The U.S. Department of Commerce initiated the Seventh Administrative Reviews (AR7) of the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders for certain softwood lumber products from Canada. Each year (unless the case is settled), administrative reviews are conducted to recalculate the countervailing and antidumping duty rates for shipments during the period of review (for AR7, January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024) and to establish new cash deposit rates for future shipments.  A company is subject to the reviews if there has been a specific request for review of that company filed by interested parties with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

• U.S. Federal Register: Initiation Notice of AR7 (PDF, 322KB)

September 24, 2024: AR5 Amended Final Rates

The U.S. Department of Commerce published amended final results of the antidumping (AD) case for the fifth Administrative Review (AR5) in the Federal Register; rates are effective September 24, 2024.

• U.S. Federal Register: Amended Final Results of AR5 AD Case (PDF, 219KB)

The above table shows final amended rates for the fifth Administrative Review released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. These amended cash deposit rates took effect on September 24, 2024, the original Federal Register publication date of the final results.

​November 30, 2023: ITC Sunset Review Decision

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued their sunset review decision. The ITC voted in favour of keeping the orders in place, which means that exports of softwood lumber from Canada will continue to be subject to antidumping and countervailing duties. Results of the sunset review will become official once the final determination is published in the U.S. Federal Register, expected late December 2023 or early January 2024.

The sunset review is a requirement under U.S. law for the ITC and U.S. Department of Commerce to review existing antidumping and countervailing duty orders every five years to determine if they are still needed.

• Government of British Columbia Statement
• Government of Canada Statement

Rate tables

The above table shows final amended rates for the fifth Administrative Review released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. These amended cash deposit rates took effect on September 24, 2024, the original Federal Register publication date of the final results.

The above table shows final amended rates for the fourth Administrative Review released by the U.S. Department of Commerce.  These amended cash deposit rates took effect on August 1, 2023, the original Federal Register publication date of the final results.