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Malaysian Reserve
6 days ago
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
U.S. Lumber Coalition: Canada Employs Unfounded Scare Tactics in Attempt to Attack President Trump's Successful Trade Policies
The U.S. softwood lumber industry is a critical manufacturing industry essential to the national economic strength and the industrial resilience of the United States Canada's unfair trade in softwood lumber continues to be extremely harmful to U.S. producers and workers Continued strong trade law enforcement is paramount to bringing about fair pricing of lumber to support future capacity increases for U.S. self-reliance in lumber WASHINGTON, July 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — CNN recently published an article citing the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, backed by Canadian allied organizations such as the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), attacking President Trump's trade policies. The article claims that tariffs on Canadian building materials, with an emphasis on Canadian lumber imports, will drive up the cost of housing for U.S. consumers. This is incorrect. 'Claims by the National Association of Homebuilders that import duties, or possible future tariffs, against unfairly traded Canadian lumber imports would drive the housing affordability issue routinely have been proven wrong,' stated Zoltan van Heyningen, Executive Director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, adding that 'an honest conversation about housing affordability, such as Prime Minister Carney engaged in when talking about housing affordability issues in Canada, would mainly focus on the cost of land, regulatory costs, labor, and high profitability rates of homebuilders.' 'President Trump's America First trade policies, which include the unyielding enforcement of U.S. trade laws against dumped and subsidized Canadian lumber imports, has resulted in a massive boost of U.S. production of softwood lumber to build American homes with American lumber produced by American workers,' stated Andrew Miller, Chair/Owner of Stimson Lumber Company. Increased U.S. capacity through the enforcement of the U.S. trade laws means that today the United States can supply the vast majority of its own lumber needs. U.S. mills have added 8.8 billion board feet of capacity since 2016 in the form of new mills and expansions of existing mills. The U.S. industry has produced 30 billion additional board feet of softwood lumber during this period. These increases have more than offset any decline in unfairly traded Canadian imports and are enough lumber to build two million new single-family homes. 'In order to continue seeing the massive growth of U.S. softwood lumber production capacity that we have seen over the last nine years as a result of U.S. trade law enforcement, it is essential that President Trump takes all necessary steps to downsizing Canada's unsustainable 8 billion board feet of excess lumber capacity that is stifling continued U.S. growth,' continued Miller. 'Canada's massive excess lumber capacity coupled with Canada needing to ship 60 to 70 percent of all their lumber production into the U.S. market in order to maintain that capacity is driving Canada to continue engaging in egregious unfair trade practices,' added Miller. 'Canadian softwood lumber companies, not U.S. consumers, directly pay the import duties through their U.S. subsidiaries. This is reflected in their financial statements, and is not a cost that they can pass on to the consumers in today's weak lumber market,' stated van Heyningen, adding that 'naturally, this is a fact that is overlooked by those seeking to attack President Trump's successful trade policies as it is an inconvenient truth.' 'To date, Canadian softwood lumber companies have paid an estimated 7 billion dollars to U.S. taxpayers, and will be on the hook for an additional estimated 1.3 billion dollars once the U.S. Department of Commerce issues its latest results in the ongoing antidumping and anti-subsidy trade cases,' explained van Heyningen. 'Canada is desperately trying to avoid paying their bill to the U.S. taxpayers and is pushing the outrageous scheme of using the collected duties slated for the U.S. Treasury as a bailout of the Canadian industry to secure jobs for Canadian workers. They are suggesting relieving Canada from having to pay future duties while continuing to dump their excess lumber into the U.S. market,' added van Heyningen. 'This is an affront to the principles of U.S. trade law enforcement, to U.S. taxpayers, and to U.S. industry and its workers who simply want to be able to compete on a level playing field.' U.S. lumber industry response to Canada's proposal that the United States terminate its trade cases against Canadian lumber in order to bail out the Canadian industry and secure jobs for Canadian workers. U.S. lumber industry and workers letter to President Trump on the need for continued strong enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to keep expanding U.S. lumber manufacturing and availability to build more American homes with American lumber. Enforcing U.S. trade laws helps increase the U.S. supply of lumber to build American homes, all without impacting the cost of a new home, as demonstrated by data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Fastmarkets Random Lengths. About the U.S. Lumber Coalition The U.S. Lumber Coalition is an alliance of large and small softwood lumber producers from around the country, joined by their employees and woodland owners, working to address Canada's unfair lumber trade practices. Our goal is to serve as the voice of the American lumber community and effectively address Canada's unfair softwood lumber trade practices. The Coalition supports the full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to allow the U.S. industry to invest and grow to its natural size without being impaired by unfairly traded imports. Continued full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws will strengthen domestic supply lines by maximizing long-term domestic production and lumber availability produced by U.S. workers to build U.S. homes. For more information, please visit the Coalition's website at CONTACT: Zoltan van Heyningenzoltan@ | 202-805-9133
Malaysian Reserve
18-07-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Lowe's Foundation Investment in Solving Skilled Trades Labor Shortage Grows to $43 Million
Third cohort of community and technical colleges grant recipients will launch and expand new training programs for thousands of aspiring tradespeople MOORESVILLE, N.C., July 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Lowe's Foundation today announced 12 new Gable Grants for community and technical colleges to help solve America's critical skilled trades worker shortage. The funding expands the foundation's nationwide network of Gable Grants recipients to 60 organizations, each delivering scalable pathways into high-demand trades careers. Through expanded training, grants to this cohort will help build the next generation of skilled tradespeople at a time when the industry needs it the most. According to the National Association of Homebuilders, the skilled labor gap drives a $10 billion annual economic loss in the housing industry. 'Collectively, we are writing a comeback story for the skilled trades industry,' said Janice Dupré, Lowe's executive vice president of human resources and chair of the Lowe's Foundation. 'Through our Gable Grants network, these schools join a community of innovators helping one another effectively recruit, train and employ the people America needs to revitalize our infrastructure.' Since launching the Gable Grants program in 2023, the foundation has invested $43 million across 28 states. The grants are part of a five-year, $50 million commitment to help community and technical colleges and nonprofits recruit, train and prepare 50,000 trades professionals across carpentry and construction, HVAC, electrical, plumbing and property maintenance. The new Lowe's Foundation Gable Grants support the following community and technical colleges: Blue Ridge Community College (Flat Rock, North Carolina) will support ongoing Hurricane Helene recovery efforts through expanded training for advanced manufacturing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and construction apprenticeships. The grant will help Blue Ridge hire certified instructors and offer tuition support to students from across Western North Carolina. Cape Fear Community College (Wilmington, North Carolina) will introduce plumbing, facility maintenance and core construction programs at two correctional facilities and an adult high school program. The college's curriculum features integrated virtual reality training along with industry recognized certifications to meet the needs of its growing employer network. Community College of Rhode Island (Warwick, Rhode Island) will expand its Electrical Apprenticeship and Ready to Build programs to address the growing demand for skilled trades professionals. The school will establish two state-of-the-art lab spaces to increase enrollment capacity and develop a credit-bearing academic pathway that integrates into a new construction management certificate and degree program. Florida State College at Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Florida) will strengthen communities and improve access for aspiring electricians, construction professionals and HVAC technicians through training at community sites. The grant will also support the recruitment of skilled instructors and fund educational materials, spaces and equipment, addressing workforce needs for large construction projects in Jacksonville, including the $8 billion downtown revitalization and $1.4 billion NFL stadium renovation. Los Angeles Community College District (Los Angeles) will enhance its skilled trades curriculum while expanding the capacity of its Construction, Maintenance and Utilities programs. In the aftermath of the 2025 Palisades and Eaton wildfires, the program will focus on fire recovery with disaster-specific training to prepare a workforce for major infrastructure projects. Germanna Community College (Fredericksburg, Virginia) will build and deploy mobile training units to rural communities, public schools and correctional facilities. Germanna Community College has trained over 3,500 students in 2025, the most among Virginia schools awarding skilled trades credentials. Ivy Tech Community College (Indianapolis) is receiving its second Gable Grant to launch a new Building and Property Maintenance Technician program and enhance its HVAC training. This grant will focus on dislocated workers and second-chance learners and will expand trades programs across the college system, which includes 19 campuses throughout Indiana. J.F. Ingram State Technical College (Deatsville, Alabama) exclusively serves Alabama's incarcerated population and individuals under supervised release. The Gable Grant will unlock access to electrical training through virtual reality simulation software and shop-based learning. The vocational training program supports reentry and long-term career pathways by equipping students with invaluable technical skills and expertise to meet industry workforce needs and gain a competitive advantage in the job market. Johnson College of Technology (Scranton, Pennsylvania) will expand its capacity and programming at two campuses through its HVAC, Electrical Construction Technology and carpentry and cabinetmaking labs. The school is the only career technical college in Northeastern Pennsylvania and partners with industry employers to prepare students for residential, commercial and industrial careers across the region. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Perkinston, Mississippi) is receiving its second Gable Grant to introduce electrical technology evening courses and transform its construction trades program. This will double the school's capacity to prepare electricians and support a Fast-Track Pathway that offers accelerated transfer credits, internships and apprenticeships to meet the construction sector's growing demands. Palm Beach State College (Lake Worth, Florida) is receiving its second Gable Grant to help expand its construction trades programs and add a simulation lab. The expansion will complement four mobile units and bring HVAC and electrical training to the school's Palm Beach Gardens campus as well as rural high schools in South Florida. Texas State Technical College (Waco, Texas) will equip a nearly 130,000 square-foot Construction Technology Center while offering tool stipends to eligible students. The school boasts an 87% job placement rate and offers associate degrees and certificates of completion, as well as short-term, noncredit training aligned with Texas' workforce needs. The next Gable Grant application cycle for community-based nonprofits opens from Aug. 1 to Aug. 31 and is by invitation only. To learn more about eligibility guidelines and skilled trades career benefits, visit About The Lowe's FoundationThe Lowe's Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) organization founded by Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), is helping develop a community of skilled tradespeople to build and revitalize our homes, neighborhoods and infrastructure for the future. From 2023 through 2028, the Lowe's Foundation is investing $50 million to help prepare 50,000 people for skilled trades careers through grants to community and technical colleges, community-based nonprofit organizations and national nonprofit partners with a strong local presence. To learn more about the Lowe's Foundation, visit and follow on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Media ContactsSebastian HaleLowe's Click here for a Spanish version of the press release
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What Trump's Tariffs Could Mean For Homebuilding—and the Housing Crisis
Higher materials prices are expected to stall new construction homes and renovations, and make both more expensive for everyone. After President Trump announced his tariffs plan on April 2, what he has deemed "Liberation Day," only to follow up with a 90-day pause on the previously-announced reciprocal tariffs (with exception to a 10 percent flat duty on all imported goods), the public is rightfully flummoxed about precisely what products are about to get more expensive. Homebuilders fall into this shaky boat: According to the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), nearly $14 billion of imported goods were used to construct new single and multifamily residences across the country—accounting for seven percent of all required materials. Though there's still much uncertainty about how tariffs will resume after the pause, reports nationwide have homebuilders of all sizes bracing for what could be a big setback to creating new homes and renovating others. When it comes to homebuilding, the industry isn't a stranger to pricing changes to materials like softwood and steel, which were tariffed by Trump in his first term (and mostly maintained under the Biden administration). However, the U.S. Department of Commerce has stated that it plans to raise these tariffs again this year to more than 34 percent, which, says the Financial Times, includes new import and anti-dumping duties. It's unknown when this plan will go into effect. And while Canada is also a major exporter of steel and aluminum, according to U.S. News & World Report, many of the materials used in U.S. housing construction come from China, currently subject to a whopping 145 percent tariff (which includes a 120 percent reciprocal tariff exempted from his April 9 pauses). This could cause material costs to soar to as much as $45 billion per year from today's $4 billion expenditure. Other materials, including gypsum for drywall, flooring, appliances, and HVAC systems are frequently made in and imported from Canada, China, and Mexico; in early April, the New York Times published example "line items" that account for both tariff costs and possible labor shortages resulting from large-scale migrant worker deportations. In their analysis, the costs for windows and doors would increase by 11 percent, roofing would increase by 21 percent, and drywall would increase by 22 percent—not including any cost increases to labor. U.S. News notes that suppliers and contractors may be able to source materials more cheaply by shopping from manufacturers in countries currently exempted from reciprocal tariffs, but "most homebuilders have developed relationships with companies and countries and can't always make immediate changes." Yet immediate changes are coming from the top—policy shifts at the national level cause prices to fluctuate, which, as a story by the Pittsburgh Gazette explains, has strained some smaller suppliers and contractors. One Pennsylvania supplier who typically receives prices annually has begun to see them change almost daily; some manufacturers have paused pricing entirely, which can delay projects. This could mean that projects currently underway could see price hikes or pauses while manufacturers catch up or developers strategize how to recoup potential unanticipated costs. For smaller remodeling projects, the NAHB reports that their 2025 first quarter Remodeling Market Index—a survey that asks builders to rate the remodeling market—dropped to its lowest level since 2020, "as some remodelers are reporting that uncertainty about tariffs and the direction of the economy are making customers hesitant to spend on larger projects," says Nicole Goolsby, the remodelers chair for NAHB. Even larger homebuilders like Lennar were feeling "squeezed" as early as March and, according to their market share dropped by four percent due to interest rates and a downturn in consumer confidence in the wake of international trade uncertainty. This means consumers could see higher prices for new construction homes as well as for renovations to existing ones. notes that new homes account for less than 20 percent of the housing market, but that there are some states where construction is booming to meet demand: In Idaho, new construction makes up nearly 40 percent of the market, and in North Carolina and Delaware, new homes hover around 30 percent of the housing market. In these states, momentum toward meeting our current housing needs could be hit hard as the NAHB reports that a rise in material costs could raise new home construction costs by more than $9,000. As import duties are levied on individual materials themselves, the costs could be passed onto buyers, raising more questions about how trade policy will ultimately impact the housing crisis. Top photo by. Related reading: How Will the Next President Fix the Housing Crisis? The Good and Bad News for Housing in 2025
Fox News
16-04-2025
- Business
- Fox News
House prices skyrocketed under Biden. Now, guess who Democrats want to blame?
Democrats love blaming high home prices on everything but their own policies. Over the past five years, the cost of a median house has risen 20% nationally while wages rose just 4% — and that disparity doesn't even account for increased mortgage rates. With housing costs becoming a massive pain point for millions of American households, it's easy to see why Democrats want to avoid taking responsibility (and blame Republicans if possible). Some, like Nevada Democrat Sen. Jacky Rosen, have taken aim at President Donald Trump's tariff policies. In a recent letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, she warned that Trump's tariffs on Canadian lumber would "drastically increase the cost of constructing housing in the United States." Like many economists, I'm no fan of tariffs, but in this case, Rosen's concern is nothing more than political posturing. For one thing, Biden actually increased tariffs on Canadian lumber and received very little backlash from his own party. It's also worth noting that lumber prices alone have a relatively small impact on the cost of home construction (and shouldn't affect the price of existing homes at all). One analysis by the National Association of Homebuilders (which advocates for low tariffs on construction materials) found that framing is the single most expensive part of building a new house, accounting for 15.5% of the final construction cost. But when you consider framing as a share of the home's sales price (which is what buyers actually care about) and try to separate out labor costs, lumber accounts for a much smaller percentage — perhaps as low as 4%. The current tariff on Canadian lumber is 14.5%. Crunch those numbers, and it seems like wood tariffs drive up the cost of a median home by a few hundred dollars at most. That's not nothing, but it doesn't come close to explaining how home prices got so out of control. Another Democratic line of attack, best exemplified by an exchange between JD Vance and podcast host Lulu Garcia-Navarro, has focused on immigration policy. "So how do you propose to build all the housing necessary that we need in this country by removing all the people who are working in construction?," Garcia-Navarro asked the then-candidate for vice president. "Well, I think it's a fair question because we know that back in the 1960s, when we had very low levels of illegal immigration, Americans didn't build houses," Vance answered, sarcastically. It's true that non-citizens disproportionately work in construction (though not all construction workers build homes), but it's also true that they compete with citizens for scarce housing. Even the libertarian Cato Institute acknowledges that "the marginal immigrant increases housing demand more than he increases housing supply." This means that, on the whole, less illegal immigration and more deportations will mean cheaper housing. Though, of course, the entire issue is a red herring, since the massive wave of illegal immigration under President Joe Biden coincided with a spike in housing costs. Even if it were true that tight border controls and strict immigration enforcement would make homes more expensive, it wouldn't explain how they got so expensive in the first place. Perhaps most absurdly, Democrats and the Biden administration even tried to blame landlords' greed and the pricing algorithms they use. The Biden Justice Department sued one of these algorithms to "make housing more affordable for millions of people across the country," and Democrats in Congress have proposed similar legislation to end the use of this software. This is ridiculous. An empty apartment is a huge financial hit for a landlord. That is exactly what happens when they price their units too high — they are left holding them back. Fortunately, while Democrats continue to scapegoat and point fingers, Republicans are aiming to fix the housing cost inflation problem with deregulation. This means that, on the whole, less illegal immigration and more deportations will mean cheaper housing. For example, under newly confirmed Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, the Trump administration is working to cut red tape that many builders say has held back new construction. Turner has announced a comprehensive review of HUD's programs. Of course, much of the red tape is state or local, but there are plenty of federal barriers that can be deconstructed as well, and that is exactly what the Trump administration plans on doing. That's a step in the right direction, which is far more than what the Democrats are currently offering. Hopefully, it's the first of many similar initiatives to come. Housing is a great populist issue that can provide endless political wins for the White House — so the more, the merrier.
Axios
03-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Trump lumber tariff threat is latest headache for homebuilders
The Trump administration will investigate whether to slap tariffs on lumber imports on the grounds of national security, raising the risk of higher costs for the construction industry and homebuyers. Why it matters: It is the latest economically critical input — including steel, aluminum and copper — to get swept up into President Trump's trade war in an effort to boost domestic industry. A senior White House official said it is not certain whether the Commerce Department, which will carry out the investigation under Section 232, will ultimately impose tariffs. The official told reporters that these tariffs would be additive to others threatened by Trump. For instance, the White House plans to impose across-the-board 25% tariffs on imports from Canada — the largest supplier of lumber to the U.S. Threat level: The administration says the investigation would determine whether foreign governments were dumping cheap lumber onto U.S. shores. If tariffs move ahead, it could make it more expensive, for example, for California to rebuild after destruction from the Los Angeles wildfires. Flashback: Soaring lumber prices were a poster child of the inflation shock. Shortages of the building material slowed construction and put upward pressure on home prices. In 2024, the Biden administration nearly doubled tariffs on imports of Canadian softwood lumber to 14.5%. State of play: The homebuilding industry has previously warned that raising tariffs further would have a "harmful effect" on housing affordability — most recently earlier this year, before Trump postponed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. "Tariffs on lumber and other building materials increase the cost of construction and discourage new development, and consumers end up paying for the tariffs in the form of higher home prices," the National Association of Homebuilders, a lobbying group, said in a statement in January.
