Members of Congress and officials within the Biden Administration appear to be listening to the pleas from the building industry, led predominantly by the National Association of Homebuilders, to intervene as skyrocketing lumber prices drive up home prices.

In a May 12 Senate Finance Committee hearing, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai told Senate lawmakers that she would "push for solutions to the lumber pricing issues" and address the issue of tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber imports into the United States. She echoed the sentiment the next day in a House hearing, in which four bipartisan members of Congress discussed the need to boost lumber production and end tariffs on Canadian lumber imports into the US.

And separately, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) cited NAHB statistics in a recent floor statement discussing how rising lumber prices have added nearly $36,000 to the price of a new home and a $13,000 increase in the market value of a multifamily unit.  In his speech, he also called for the elimination of lumber tariffs and to "boost the domestic types of the types of lumber used in home construction."

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.