Opinion: Act now to protect Alberta forestry industry from tariffs

Canada’s economy is facing an attack — and our forest industry is on the front lines. Our forest products face a staggering 55-per-cent tax on a market that takes half of the country’s lumber, pulp, and wood panels.

On March 3, Donald Trump announced a 25-per-cent tariff on all Canadian goods, while the U.S. Commerce Department revealed an increase in duties on lumber from 14 per cent to nearly 30 per cent. And the president has threatened to take things even further, ordering an investigation into all American lumber imports that could impose a third layer of trade barriers.

As a result, individuals and businesses on both sides of the border will experience the repercussions of skyrocketing prices, growing uncertainty, and declining revenue in the forestry sector.

Alberta’s forestry industry sustains 30,000 jobs, and these tariffs put those jobs — and the livelihoods of many hard-working Albertans — at risk. Yet, we are a resilient group, not afraid to roll up our sleeves and take action. To protect our forestry industry and secure jobs, we need to take decisive action now for the future.

Job number 1 is talking to our American neighbours about the value of Canadian forest products. Alberta-made lumber and wood panels facilitate the affordable construction of American homes. Our pulp serves as feedstock for industrial processes and helps create jobs for Americans. Many of these processes create products like tissue paper, paper towels, packaging, and medical gowns that are consumed by Americans, sold back to Canadians, and shipped around the world.

And speaking of reciprocal buying, the forest industry sources harvesting equipment, trucks, resins, mill machinery, and a host of other inputs from south of the border. We need to continue diplomatic work in the U.S. and encourage Americans to advocate for continued access to Canadian forest products.

In addition, we need to prioritize building with our own wood. As a strong and renewable resource, wood should be top of mind for public and private infrastructure projects. We encourage Alberta to pass a “Build with Alberta Wood Act” to promote its use, strengthening both the industry and the environment.

We should also advocate with the Government of Canada for financial backstops. Liquidity from the backstops could help to keep mills open and people employed until the dispute is resolved.

Now is a strategic time to implement a forest manufacturing tax credit. Such credits exist in other sectors and could catalyze investments in forestry mills to create new products for new markets.

While it is important to maintain our strong trading relationship with the U.S., the implementation of the tariffs has brought to light the need to also seek and cultivate other partners to decrease our reliance on the American market. We should invest in new markets like India, Africa, and the Middle East and leverage existing relationships in Japan, China, and Korea. But we also need to have the infrastructure in place to support those new markets. This means enhanced rail and port capacity to deliver products efficiently.

Finally, let’s keep reducing red tape to ensure our competitiveness. Regulations are often in place for a valid reason, but they can be streamlined. When processes are slowed due to redundancies and too many regulations, it hurts industry. If we can streamline processes, it will put us in a better position regarding U.S. trade barriers.

We all have our own experiences, skills and connections. Find a way that you can help and run with it. Support forestry and the livelihoods attached in Alberta to shape a more prosperous province. Let’s create armour to shield our industry, province and country against current and potential future attacks and use these current challenges as tools to create opportunities for growth for our forest sector.

Jason Krips is president of the Alberta Forest Products Association.