A local wood products spokesman says the World Trade Organization ruling on Canadian lumber tariffs is unfortunate and will further hurt domestic manufacturers, but it won’t have much effect in Southern Oregon because the commodity lumber industry here is pretty much gone.

Canadian manufacturers have a distinct advantage with long-term supply from Crown lands and can acquire timber at much lower prices than manufacturers here, said Dave Hill of Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association in Medford.

"The duties imposed by the U.S. are an attempt to balance a big raw materials imbalance," Hill said, "and without the duties, Canadian lumber is going to continue to be attractive, especially in framing materials (for homes), which American consumers want at the best price.

"It’s not conducive to domestic manufacturers investing in expanded mill operations and it benefits producers outside the U.S. where labor and materials are much cheaper."

Bret Moore of the Homebuilders Association of Jackson County said the tariff had tripled the price of OSB (oriented strand board) and plywood in just the past year and a half by jacking up the cost of raw materials and crimping supply. "It’s run our costs sky-high," he said, adding that the tariff was "political" and happened because the timber industry demanded it.

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Although of different views on the striking down of the tariff, the two industry leaders were unified on the cause of the problem — U.S. timber policy.

"The problem is that 80 percent of federal timber lands are off-limits to active timber management and the growth rate so badly exceeds the removal rate by harvest and natural means," said Hill. "If there were an active thinning program, we would produce more product, resulting in a healthier forest and improved fisheries and habitat."

Moore concurred, saying "The timber policy is what’s hurting the U.S. timber industry. We just don’t produce enough. We put duties on Canadian imports because we don’t produce enough. Just in the Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests, we hardly cut any timber like we used to. People want homes, and we have to get it from somewhere else."

The decision is "unfortunate," added Moore, "but it’s not going to mean a dramatic change in Southern Oregon (due to the lack of mills here). This fight has been going on for many years and I’m sure the U.S. will appeal it."

John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org