Eye On Housing
Prices paid for goods used in residential construction decreased 0.5% in February (not seasonally adjusted) according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Building materials prices are just 0.6% higher than they were 12 months ago and have been remarkably stable since then, with an average monthly increase of 0.05%. In fact, the… Read More ›
In July 2018, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced its intention to levy tariffs on a series of imports from China. USTR rolled out proposed tariffs in three waves, with the third list (List 3) covering approximately $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. The List 3 goods comprises 5745 items, approximately 450 of which are commonly used in the… Read More ›
On November 2, 2017, the Commerce Department announced its final decision to impose duties averaging 20.83 percent on Canadian softwood lumber shipments into the U.S. The impacts of these duties on the U.S. economy next year will include increased production by U.S. sawmills, reduced imports from Canada, and higher prices paid for lumber by consumers in the U.S., which in… Read More ›
In a previous post, NAHB analyzed the effect of the 19.88% countervailing duty (CVD) levied by the Department of Commerce on Canadian softwood lumber exported to the United States. The NAHB analysis showed that, had that duty been in effect throughout 2017, the effects would include a net loss of 8,241 full-time U.S. jobs. On June 26, the Department of… Read More ›
On April 25, the Department of Commerce levied a 19.88% duty rate against Canadian softwood lumber exports to the United States. Due to “special circumstances,” the duties will be retroactive 90 days from the date that the rates are officially published in the Federal Register, likely back to the beginning of February. Five Canadian lumber producing companies will face specific… Read More ›
Recent NAHB estimates show that a 15% tariff on softwood lumber imported from Canada would have resulted in a loss of had it been applied to all Canadian producers in 2014. NAHB analyzed 15%, because that was the maximum tariff in the Softwood Lumber Agreement that expired last year. NAHB analyzed 2014, because that was a recent year with complete data, seemed representative… Read More ›