Canadian Lumber Duties Fall After NAFTA Ruling

Importers of Canadian softwood lumber will pay lower countervailing duty rates on entries under the revised determination.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in International Trade

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a stack of pale timber boards in deep red and cream, centered on a plain field. — The U.S. Commerce Department lowered countervailing duty rates on Canadian softwood lumber on Thursday, following a NAFTA panel's acceptance of its second recalculation. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The U.S. Commerce Department has lowered countervailing duty rates on Canadian softwood lumber set in its 2017 investigation, following a NAFTA binational panel's acceptance of its second recalculation. The amended rates took effect Thursday, with importers of Canadian lumber seeing lower duty rates for the named producers and most other exporters.

Why it matters

The change follows a nine-year appeal by Canadian producers under NAFTA's Chapter 19 dispute process, which allows a binational panel to review U.S. trade rulings in place of a U.S. court. The panel returned parts of the calculation to Commerce twice, in 2024 and March 2026, before accepting the department's second recalculation on October 5.

The new all-others countervailing rate is 12.80%, down from 14.19%, and the five named producers' rates range from 2.96% for J.D. Irving to 16.73% for West Fraser. Antidumping duties at 10.64% for most exporters and the 10% Section 232 tariff on lumber imports are unchanged.

The players

U.S. Department of Commerce

The federal agency that investigates foreign subsidies and dumping and sets countervailing and antidumping duty rates on imports, including softwood lumber.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

The federal agency that collects duties at the border and will receive Commerce's new deposit instructions for affected lumber exporters.

Canfor

A Canadian lumber producer whose countervailing duty rate falls to 12.49% under the revised determination.

West Fraser

A large Canadian forest products company whose countervailing duty rate falls to 16.73% under the revised determination.

The details

Countervailing duties offset subsidies that Commerce found Canadian producers received, and the rates are set per producer or exporter. Because the notice does not alter deposits already paid by the five named companies, the reduction applies going forward and through the revised deposit instructions Customs will receive. Exporters not covered by an annual review will see the new all-others rate applied to their entries.

November 2017: Commerce issued its final subsidy finding.
2024: The NAFTA panel first sent the calculation back to Commerce.
October 5, 2026: The panel accepted Commerce's second recalculation.
October 19, 2026: The NAFTA Secretariat formally closed the case.
November 3, 2026: The notice was published in the Federal Register and the amended rates took effect Thursday.

Market Landscape

The dispute is one of the longest-running trade remedy cases under NAFTA's Chapter 19 panel process, which has repeatedly sent Commerce calculations back for recalculation. The revised rates are one data point in a multi-year series of softwood lumber duty determinations that have moved in both directions.

Importers and buyers of Canadian softwood lumber should review their duty deposit schedules against the revised rates. Customs deposit instructions for exporters not covered by annual review will determine what is collected going forward, so confirm the rate applied to your entries with your customs broker or accountant.

The takeaway

Trade-exposed operators should treat the reduced countervailing rates as a cost line to recheck against upcoming entries and against Customs' deposit instructions. Consult qualified trade counsel or an accountant before adjusting pricing or sourcing decisions.