Christmas trees, shingles and paper: How tariffs could hurt N.B. forestry industry

As Canada deals with a 25 per cent U.S. tariff on steel and aluminum, imposed on Monday, the country is also on edge waiting to see if President Trump will follow through on his threat of universal tariffs next month. 

In New Brunswick, the forestry industry is especially concerned, given that about 80 per cent of its forest products are exported to the U.S.

"So this is everything from Christmas trees ... it's lumber, it's pulp and paper, it's engineered wood products. It's the whole gamut of products across the sector," said Derek Nighbor, president and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada, in an interview with Information Morning Fredericton. 

While 80 per cent is significant, Nighbor said it's important not to panic just yet.

"I think what we've seen from the president in the first three weeks here is a lot of chaos and a lot of inconsistency and the goal posts moving a lot," he said. 

Nighbor is part of a Canadian trade mission to Washington, D.C., meeting with politicians to showcase the importance of Canada-U.S. trade.

He said he has met with Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who grew up in Caribou, Maine, near the New Brunswick border, and whose family is involved with forestry.

"So she knows this well, and she knows very deeply the link between New Brunswick and Maine," Nighbor said. 

There's a lot of misinformation about Canadian border security and trade deficits in the U.S., he said, so it's important for Canadians to be there having conversations with U.S. policy makers. 

"There are a lot of Canadians in Washington, D.C., these days and that's an important thing, from forestry to banking to steel to aluminum."

Tariffs on Canadian forestry products would only increase prices for Americans trying to build homes, Nighbor said, including those rebuilding after the Los Angeles fires and Hurricane Helene last year.

"They need Canadian lumber to rebuild their communities. And that's something we can do in partnership with them."

The tariffs would also be a challenge because Canada is already in the midst of a trade dispute over softwood lumber, which currently faces an average 14 per cent duty, he said.

One of the arguments for facilitating trade with the New Brunswick forestry industry is its proximity to the U.S. markets in the northeast.

"It's much easier than getting the wood from Brazil or or Finland, for example," he said.

With uncertainty now, Nighbor stressed the importance of remembering all of the hurdles the industry has overcome in recent years, including past tariff disputes.

"It's a pretty resilient bunch in New Brunswick and in Canadian forestry," Nighbor said.

If anything, this episode could force Canadian leaders to more seriously consider incentives to support growth within the country, such as producing more paper products or taking the GST off homes in order to incentivize more home building, he said.

"I think this is a real call to action."