Drilled Studs Reheat
Trade Dispute
Customs Service moves to plug
holes in lumber quota agreement
The U.S. Customs Service proposed in April to reclassify
Canadian studs with holes predrilled to accept
electrical wire as unfinished lumber, rather than as
"joinery and carpentry" products. The decision would
make the predrilled studs count toward the duty-free
lumber quota allowed under the present U.S.-Canada
softwood lumber agreement, and could rekindle a dormant
lumber trade dispute between the two countries.
The proposal pleased U.S. lumber companies, who
argue that the predrilled studs should count toward the
quota. But it infuriated many Canadian lumber representatives,
who say the studs are a legitimate valueadded
product that should be exempt from the
unfinished lumber