The Bush Administration announced the 19.3-percent tariff on Canadian softwood lumber on Friday, saying that Canada has unfairly been subsidizing its logging companies for years. Bush has been under pressure from Democrats in log-producing states, and from some Republicans, to levy the new import taxes in an effort to save logging jobs in the US.

Most apartment and single-family builders hate the idea of levying new import taxes on Canadian lumber, saying it will undoubtedly force the cost of building a home higher. Researchers at the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C., say the 19.3% tax increase will add about $1,000 to the construction cost of each new housing unit.

An even bigger round of tax increases could come next month. On Sept. 24, the Bush Administration is expected to rule on a separate complaint by US lumber producers that Canadian companies have illegally been dumping wood at below-market prices.