-
Japan Housing Starts: February 2017
Total housing starts in Japan were 70,912 units in February, down 7.3 per cent compared to last month and down by 2.6 per cent compared to February 2016, according to Japan Lumber Reports Friday. New rental units increased for ten consecutive months but new units for sale dropped sharply after a decline in condominium building.…
-
Canada Federal Government Lumber Trade Update
Attendees this week at the BC Council of Forest Industries AGM in downtown Vancouver, BC, got an excellent update on Canada-US softwood lumber trade issues from Assistant Deputy Minister at Global Affairs Canada, Kirsten Hillman, and BC Lumber Trade Envoy David Emerson. Robust ongoing demand and looming potentially-retroactive duties on softwood lumber later this month…
-
Softwood Lumber Negotiations Update and NAFTA
The latest movement from the new US Administration on trade issues is this week bringing forward NAFTA discussions to the US Congress. Of most interest to the Canadian and US softwood lumber industry, a component of the Administration’s letter appears related to the softwood lumber dispute with Canada. The draft calls for eliminating a provision…
-
Softwood Lumber and NAFTA
It’s looking increasingly like NAFTA is not going to get just “tweaked”, according to the latest meetings of new USTR appointee Robert Lighthizer, who formerly worked for Ronald Reagan. Lighthizer told his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday that softwood is “at the top of the list,” said the Globe and Mail March 14. He said he…
-
Softwood Lumber Board Nominees Sought
The US Department of Agriculture is seeking nominations to ll seven seats on the Softwood Lumber Board coming open in January 2018. The 19-member board will hold elections to ll the seats of directors whose terms expire on December 31, 2017. The deadline for submitting nominations is March 13, 2017. Domestic manufacturers are being sought…
