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
