![](\"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/us-closes-the-door-on-imported-lumber.jpg\")
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For decades the United States has been the world\u2019s largest buyer of imported softwood lumber, absorbing vast volumes from Canada, Europe and Latin America. That relationship is now changing.<\/p>\n
New data from US Customs suggests the country\u2019s appetite for foreign softwood is shrinking rapidly. Total imports are expected to fall to about 30.03m cubic metres in 2025, down 9 per cent from the previous year and marking the fourth consecutive annual decline.<\/p>\n
The figure is striking for another reason. Compared with the peak reached in 2005, US softwood imports have dropped by more than 47 per cent, bringing volumes to their lowest level in almost two decades.<\/p>\n
Behind the decline lies a familiar force in global timber markets: tariffs.<\/p>\n
Tariffs reshape the market<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest contraction follows the US Department of Commerce\u2019s decision at the end of 2025 to finalise new combined countervailing and anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber.<\/p>\n The measures set tariff levels ranging between 26 per cent and 48 per cent, with most exporters facing rates of around 35 per cent.<\/p>\n The political signal has been reinforced at the highest level. President Donald Trump recently reaffirmed that tariffs would continue to apply to timber shipped to the United States following a Supreme Court ruling, a move that has heightened concerns across the global timber industry.<\/p>\n For suppliers, the consequences are immediate. Higher tariffs raise import costs and squeeze margins, forcing exporting countries to rethink their strategies for the US market.<\/p>\n At the same time, the measures are reshaping supply dynamics within the United States itself, gradually reducing the country\u2019s dependence on imported lumber.<\/p>\n Canada still dominates \u2014 but volumes fall<\/strong><\/p>\n Canada remains by far the largest supplier of softwood lumber to the US market. In 2025 Canadian exports reached 24.62m cubic metres, accounting for roughly 82 per cent of total US imports.<\/p>\n Yet even Canada has not escaped the effects of the tariffs. Shipments fell 12 per cent year on year, highlighting the pressure now facing traditional supply channels.<\/p>\n Other established exporters also recorded declines. Brazil shipped 408,000 cubic metres, down 6 per cent, while Austrian exports fell 13 per cent to 324,000 cubic metres.<\/p>\n For many of these suppliers, tariff barriers are forcing difficult adjustments to export strategies.<\/p>\n New suppliers emerge<\/strong><\/p>\n While traditional exporters struggle, several smaller suppliers are gaining ground.<\/p>\n Latvia supplied 150,000 cubic metres, a 30 per cent increase compared with the previous year. Argentina expanded exports by 75 per cent to 135,000 cubic metres, while Finland increased shipments 37 per cent to 120,000 cubic metres.<\/p>\n Sweden also strengthened its position in the market. Shipments of softwood lumber rose 21 per cent to 1.11m cubic metres.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Chile and New Zealand both expanded exports by around 17 per cent, with New Zealand supplying more than 267,000 cubic metres of radiata pine.<\/p>\n These shifts suggest the structure of US lumber imports is beginning to change. As tariffs reshape trade flows, emerging suppliers are gradually carving out new positions in the market.<\/p>\n SPF remains dominant<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the turbulence in trade flows, the composition of imports has remained relatively stable.<\/p>\n Spruce-pine-fir lumber continues to dominate US softwood imports. In 2025 SPF shipments reached 21.35m cubic metres, representing 73 per cent of total imports.<\/p>\n Spruce and fir ranked second with 3.28m cubic metres, accounting for about 11 per cent of imports. Pine shipments reached 1.97m cubic metres, or roughly 7 per cent.<\/p>\n Other categories \u2014 including cedar, hemlock-fir and southern yellow pine \u2014 together accounted for less than 10 per cent of total imports.<\/p>\n In other words, tariffs have altered volumes and supply sources but have done little to change the overall mix of products entering the US market.<\/p>\n Timber becomes a strategic material<\/strong><\/p>\n Washington\u2019s tariff policy is not simply about trade disputes. It reflects a new strategic argument increasingly heard in US policy circles.<\/p>\n Under previous trade measures, including tariffs introduced under Section 232, the US government imposed a 10 per cent duty on global timber products and 25 per cent tariffs on items such as cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture.<\/p>\n Officials have repeatedly argued that timber should be treated as a strategic material linked to national security.<\/p>\n Government statements have pointed to the role of wood products in areas such as military testing facilities, storage infrastructure, ammunition transport systems and missile defence installations.<\/p>\n The underlying concern is that continued closures of domestic sawmills could leave the United States unable to meet its own timber needs for defence infrastructure and critical projects.<\/p>\n From this perspective, tariffs are intended not only to protect domestic producers but also to safeguard the security of the supply chain.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n