News that United States President Donald Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on imported timber has come as a relief to New Zealand\u2019s timber industry, which had anticipated a higher figure.<\/p>\n
Under the new order, U.S. importers will be required to pay a 10% tariff on foreign softwood lumber and timber, and 25% on imported timber furniture.<\/p>\n
Mark Ross, CEO of the Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association, described the outcome as a relief, noting that at one point the industry had expected a 50% tariff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been assessing the potential impact of a tariff on our products since March, so it wasn\u2019t a shock,\u201d Ross said. \u201cTen percent is a bit of relief, although it will still have a financial impact on New Zealand\u2019s wood processing sector. We export around US$380 million in timber products to the United States, so a 10% tariff would amount to approximately US$40 million in additional costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ross added that his organisation is working closely with exporters to manage the extra costs. The tariffs are set to come into effect on October 14.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a couple of weeks to prepare exporters and ensure they are ready to handle the tariff. Any shipments already at sea will be affected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The United States remains New Zealand\u2019s third-largest export market, and trade continues to grow despite the new tariff measures.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, some timber and lumber imports into the U.S. avoided tariffs while authorities assessed the impact of imports on the country\u2019s \u201cnational security\u201d and domestic timber industry.<\/p>\n
New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay said the Government is seeking further clarification from Washington on the tariffs and what they mean for exporters. He stressed that officials would work to ensure that New Zealand wood products are seen as complementary rather than competitive to U.S. domestic production.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, McClay added, New Zealand forestry exporters are resilient and benefit from a well-diversified international market.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[3382,3257,4287,3252],"class_list":["post-97016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news","tag-new-zealand","tag-tariffs","tag-trump","tag-us","topic-forestry","topic-furniture","topic-lumber","topic-sawmilling","topic-wood-products","area-australia-and-pacific-region","area-global","area-north-america"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n