NAFTA Panel Upholds U.S. CVD Determination on Canadian Softwood Lumber (Subsidy Rates Amended)
Published Oct. 13, 2026 | Updated Nov. 3, 2026
Key Points
- The NAFTA Binational Panel affirmed the U.S. Department of Commerce’s second redetermination on remand on October 5, 2026.
- The case concerns the final affirmative countervailing duty determination on certain softwood lumber products from Canada.
- The decision does not change the cash-deposit rates currently in effect.
- Current combined cash-deposit rates under the sixth administrative reviews include 47.59% for Canfor, 26.47% for West Fraser, and 35.16% for other companies covered by those reviews.
- Commerce’s seventh administrative reviews could change applicable rates once the agency publishes final results.
- A separate 10% Section 232 tariff applies to covered softwood timber and lumber products in addition to applicable antidumping and countervailing duties.
- Latest: On November 3, 2026, Commerce published a Federal Register notice lowering the original 2017 countervailing duty subsidy rates. Current cash deposits for the named producers are unaffected.
The U.S.
Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration published a notice on October 13, 2026, confirming that a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Binational Panel upheld Commerce’s second redetermination on remand in the proceeding involving certain softwood lumber products from Canada. The panel issued its decision on October 5, 2026, in Certain Softwood Lumber Products from Canada: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty (CVD) Determination (Secretariat File Number USA-CDA-2017-1904-02). The ruling effectively concludes this challenge and does not change the cash-deposit rates currently in effect.
On November 3, 2026, Commerce published a Federal Register notice lowering the original 2017 countervailing duty subsidy rates for all respondents and “all others” after the NAFTA Secretariat issued its Notice of Final Panel Action on October 19. Companies without a superseding rate will receive revised cash-deposit instructions.
Latest Update: Commerce Amends Softwood Lumber CVD Rates
According to the Federal Register notice, the panel’s final judgment is “not in harmony” with Commerce’s original final determination, which is the step required under the Federal Circuit’s Timken decision. Commerce amended the determination and the resulting CVD order, with the amended rates applying from October 29, 2026.
The table below shows the amended subsidy rates for Canfor, J.D. Irving, Resolute, Tolko, West Fraser, and all other producers and exporters. Each rate also applies to the company’s cross-owned affiliates.
Amended final determination subsidy rates (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce)
Impact on Cash Deposit Requirements
Commerce will issue revised cash deposit instructions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). However, the amendments will not change the current cash deposit rates for Canfor, J.D. Irving, Resolute, Tolko, and West Fraser because subsequent administrative reviews established superseding rates for these companies.
Other companies without superseding cash deposit rates will receive revised instructions from Commerce.
The amended determination applies October 29, 2026.
Previous Update: Panel Upholds Commerce’s Second Remand Determination
The decision closes a review that has run for nearly nine years. On November 14, 2017, Canadian federal and provincial governments, regional lumber associations, and producers including Canfor, J.D. Irving, Resolute, Tolko and West Fraser requested panel review. They challenged Commerce’s final countervailing duty determination, published November 8, 2017.
The panel sent the case back to Commerce twice before affirming it:
- May 6, 2024: The panel affirmed in part and remanded in part Commerce’s final determination. Commerce filed its first redetermination on December 17, 2024.
- March 6, 2026: The panel affirmed in part and remanded in part that redetermination. Commerce’s second redetermination was due by June 4, 2026.
- October 5, 2026: The panel affirmed Commerce’s second redetermination.
Previous Duty Rates (Sixth Administrative Reviews)
The sixth administrative reviews established amended final cash-deposit rates for covered Canadian softwood lumber exporters. According to Global Affairs Canada’s official duty-rate information, the previous combined rates included the following:
Amended final results of the sixth administrative reviews (Source: Global Affairs Canada)
The amended antidumping duty rates applied to entries on or after July 29, 2025, and the countervailing duty rates took effect on August 12, 2025. These cash-deposit rates stayed in effect until Commerce published the final results of the seventh administrative reviews in the Federal Register on October 19, 2026.
The seventh-review rates now apply, and they are in addition to the 10% Section 232 tariff on softwood lumber. For companies not covered by the seventh reviews, the all-others CVD cash deposit rate remains 14.19% from the original investigation. Commerce’s November 3 notice lowers that to 12.80%, and Commerce will issue revised instructions to CBP.
Separate Section 232 Tariff Applies to Covered Lumber
The U.S. introduced a separate 10% Section 232 tariff on specified softwood timber and lumber products, effective for goods entered on or after October 14, 2025.
The tariff applies in addition to antidumping and countervailing duties on products covered by both measures. The exact requirements depend on the product’s tariff classification and the scope of the applicable measures.
Proclamation 10976 lists the covered tariff classifications in Annex I and states that the Section 232 duty is in addition to other applicable duties.
NAFTA Decision Is Separate From Other Softwood Lumber Proceedings
The October 5 decision concerns the original countervailing duty determination from 2017. It should not be confused with administrative reviews or other legal challenges involving Canadian softwood lumber.
The Commerce Department conducts antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings separately. A ruling in one proceeding does not automatically determine the outcome of another.
Separate USMCA Chapter 10 challenges to earlier administrative reviews, including the 2017–2018 countervailing duty review, are handled as distinct proceedings. Importers can follow those cases through the Trade Agreements Secretariat’s e-filing registry.
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