Canada’s forestry industry is shifting up to 10% of its lumber exports away from the U.S., following new trade tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump. The rerouted volume, about one billion board feet annually, will be redirected to markets including the UK, EU, and Middle East.
The diverted lumber represents enough material to build at least 75,000 average-sized American homes, according to the FT. British Columbia, which accounts for over half of Canada’s lumber output, is leading the move and will open a UK-based export promotion office to support the initiative.
Ravi Parmar, British Columbia’s forestry minister, warned that the U.S. would face lumber shortages. Rick Doman, chair of the Forestry Innovation Investment board, said the country should “fact-check better” before tightening supply further. The $63 billion industry has experienced shutdowns and layoffs as a result of Washington’s trade actions, which now total 45% in combined duties.
Roughly two-thirds of Canada’s softwood is exported, with 90% historically going to the U.S. The Trump’s latest executive order calls for rapid expansion of U.S. timber production, claiming Canadian wood is unfairly subsidized due to low stumpage fees on public Crown land.
Zoltan van Heyningen, executive director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, told the FT that American producers could replace the diverted one billion board feet “without batting an eyelid.” However, the National Association of Home Builders warned the loss could raise building and renovation costs, as U.S. sawmills are operating at only 64% capacity. Industry data shows the U.S. remains short by 3.2 billion board feet of lumber annually, even after recent capacity growth.
British Columbia expects its first redirected shipments to arrive in the UK by Q2 2026. The UK currently imports about 2.5 billion board feet annually, with most supply coming from Sweden, Latvia, Ireland, and Finland.
