New retaliatory tariffs imposed by the EU on US exports now include planed softwood lumber, according to industry newsletter Random Lengths International.
The duties, which took effect from March 1, are a response to America’s failure to bring its tax laws into harmony with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. US tax incentives for promoting exports, called the Foreign Sales Corporation-Extra Territorial Income, were branded unfair by the WTO in 2001.
The EU duties have been set at 5% on more than 1,600 products, with an increase of 1% a month for the next 12 months, or until the US repeals the legislation.
About one-third of US softwood products exported to the EU are covered by the tariffs, including veneer, finger-jointed mouldings, OSB and non-structural panels.
Southern pine is the most common US softwood exported to Europe, with some 73,800m3 shipped in 2003. But about 90% is rough lumber, which is not subject to the tariffs.
