Even as Ottawa matches Washington's tariffs dollar for dollar, the new 25% rate on US lumber still falls well short of the roughly 45% combined tariff Canadian softwood pays entering the US.
Canada's counter-tariffs on American softwood lumber and plywood took effect at 12:01 a.m. on September 8, 2026. The measure follows a Canada Border Services Agency customs notice and Finance Canada's published tariff schedule.
Sawn softwood lumber from the US now carries a 25% surtax entering Canada, up from duty-free treatment. Plywood, laminated veneer lumber, and dissolving wood pulp carry 50%.
Key Facts
- US softwood lumber now faces a 25% Canadian border surtax, up from duty-free entry.
- Matching the US tariff on Canadian plywood since August 22, Canada now taxes American plywood at 50%.
- Canadian softwood entering the US still carries a roughly 45% combined tariff burden.
The measures answer the US's own Section 338 tariffs, which imposed a 50% duty on $27.6 billion of Canadian goods effective August 22, 2026.
Prime Minister Mark Carney set the September 8 response date in August. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the measures at an Ottawa roofing company.
Canada will match the US tariffs "dollar for dollar, rate for rate," he said.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu, and AI Minister Evan Solomon joined him.
Which Products Face the New Tariffs
Five tariff lines cover sawn coniferous lumber, each taxed at 25%.
Covered species include:
- Pine
- Fir
- Spruce
- The spruce-pine-fir group
- Hem-fir
- Other conifers
Thirteen plywood and panel lines carry 50%, including laminated veneer lumber and blockboard.
A separate line taxes dissolving wood pulp at the same rate. Two wood charcoal lines were added on August 26, also at 50%. Oriented strand board, particleboard, fibreboard, and raw veneer stayed off the list entirely, so those products still cross the border at pre-surtax rates.
How Canada's Rate Compares to the US
Canadian lumber pays more heading south. It carries a separate 10% Section 232 tariff on top of antidumping and countervailing duties.
David Elstone, managing director of the forest-products advisory firm Spar Tree Group, estimates those combined duties average 35.16%. The total US tariff burden on Canadian lumber runs near 45%, well above Canada's new 25% rate on US lumber.
The Section 338 tariffs Ottawa is answering do not apply to softwood lumber itself, since Washington's own Section 232 measures already cover logs, timber, and sawn wood.
The Wider $27.6 Billion Package
The lumber and plywood rates belong to a wider Canadian package covering $27.6 billion, or roughly US$20 billion, of American goods.
The package includes steel, aluminum, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, plastics, and electronics.
Finance Canada's list runs to 629 tariff items, cut down from an initial 874 after categories including fish and seafood were removed. Ottawa paired the countermeasures with a $7.5 billion support package for affected workers and businesses.
Goods already in transit to Canada when the surtax took effect cross at the pre-surtax rate. The measures carry no exemption for goods that would otherwise qualify duty-free under CUSMA.
