B.C.'s Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said softwood lumber exports from British Columbia could face tariffs in excess of 50 per cent if the United States follows through its on all of its tariff threats.
He made that comment Friday, (Feb. 14), from California, where he had been meeting with state lawmakers and business leaders.
The United States already imposes duties of just over 14 per cent on B.C. softwood lumber as part of an ongoing dispute. Parmar said ministry predictions point toward tariffs of between 50 and 55 per cent 鈥� figures that further damage the already struggling provincial forest industry, which relies heavily on the United States. At the same, the United States also draws heavily on B.C. and Canada.
According to Parmar, B.C. exported 4 billion board feet to the United States, accounting for about 60 per cent of all softwood lumber exports. In 2023, B.C. exported more than $3.3 billion worth of softwood lumber to the U.S and softwood lumber from British Columbia accounts for nearly one tenth of lumber used to build American homes. Overall, Canada is the United States' largest source of forest product imports, accounting for 44 per cent in 2023.
Parmar's trip comes as California is recovering from wildfires that led to the loss of 16,000 homes and buildings, according to figures from California Building Industry Association. Parmar said B.C. lumber can play a role in its rebuilding.
"We can play a role in other states as well," he said in pointing to upcoming conversations with lawmakers in North Carolina and Florida.
Democrats dominate California, while Republicans dominate North Carolina and Florida. But all three states have recently experienced a series of natural disasters that require rebuilding. California will also host the FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
"I'm going to be engaging with the insurance industry as well and they have already started throwing out pretty significant figures that the cost of a rebuild (in California) could potentially go up by 20 to 30, potentially even 40 per cent because of these Trump tariffs," Parmar said. "So I think that message has resonated."
Parmar's appeal received amplification from the California Building Industry Association. CEO Dan Dunmoyer said in a joint statement with Parmar's ministry that California can only rebuild using B.C. lumber.
"(Unjustified) tariffs and duties will only make recovery more expensive and take longer," Dunmoyer said. "B.C. can help in this housing crisis and we have a role in shaping the future of trade between our two countries."
Parmar appealed to Californians who consider themselves to be Independents and Republicans to reach out to the Trump administration. He also engaged in what experts call soft diplomacy by highlighting institutional and commercial ties between the two states and noting the role of B.C. firefighters in various fires in Greater Los Angeles.
"There is a lot of love between California and British Columbia...a lot of love between the United States and Canada, the people of the United States and Canada, but it is really unfortunate that the President has taken this long-standing relationships and is trying to decimate it," Parmar said. "So I'm hopeful that the conversations that I have been able to procure in California lead to advocacy at the federal level here as well."
But if Parmar stressed the various ties between California and British Columbia, key among them the commercial ties, he also sent a broader signal about the need to diversify. He said B.C. needs to a better job of diversifying. "So it is my expectation that industry should diversify if they wanted to be able to strengthen the economy and protect workers," he said, adding that government will be working with industry through the various agencies to both tap into new markets outside of North America to lessen the reliance on the United States and get more value out of existing supplies.
B.C. might be the least impacted province when it comes to tariffs, he added. "But there is a lot more work we can do on the softwood lumber (dispute) and the value-added side," he said.
Parmar also acknowledged that government also has to do some homework when it comes to increasing domestic supplies. Experts have pointed that out that steadily shrinking supplies over the last few years have raised the costs of cutting, as prices have been dropping, notwithstanding a recent recovery.
