Steve Swanson, CEO and executive chairman of the Swanson Group, has assumed the role of chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition for a second time, succeeding Andrew Miller, who led the group for the last four years, the U.S. Lumber Coalition announced.
Swanson previously served as chairman from 2005 to 2012. The coalition said it made structural changes during his earlier tenure that sharpened its focus on addressing Canada’s unfair trade practices using tools available under U.S. law, and it cited what it described as its most successful set of trade cases under U.S. trade laws.
In prepared remarks, Swanson thanked Miller for his leadership and said Canada’s unfair trade practices have continued. He said he will build on the coalition’s recent trade-case results and press its mission to address Canada’s “unfair” softwood lumber practices, which he linked to Canadian excess production capacity and Canadian federal and provincial subsidies, and he described that capacity as being dumped into the U.S. market.
Swanson also said he applauded President Trump’s stated policies of strictly enforcing U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws and taking additional steps under Section 232 to boost Made in U.S.A. softwood lumber production and U.S. workers. He argued that stricter enforcement is important to protect U.S. softwood lumber production capacity and supply, which he tied to the ability to build homes in the U.S.
