Why the US and Canada Are at Loggerheads Over Lumber: QuickTake

The US and Canada are fighting about lumber once again.

The neighbors have feuded over softwood lumber from fast-growing coniferous trees since the 1980s. The US has periodically put in place duties to counteract what it claims are unfair subsidies and sales of lumber priced below market value. In the first year of his second term, President Donald Trump is escalating the fight.

In March, Trump signed an executive order to increase US lumber production by streamlining permitting and ordered the Commerce Department to investigate the national security harm of lumber imports. With the industry under deepening pressure, on ...