Prior to 2001 Canada annually exported billions of board feet of lumber to the U.S.
tariff-free. The two countries had followed an agreement in which there would be no
restrictions on the lumber from Canadian companies. In March 2001 the agreement
ended and in 2002 the U.S. imposed tariffs and duties on imported Canadian lumber.
What were the effects of these changes and who gained and who lost?
The forestry workers of Canada were hurt. About 15,000 workers lost their jobs in
British Columbia and many Canadian towns suffered from the loss of income from
lumber sales and related industries. Exports to the U.S. fell from 14.7 billion board feet
in 2000 to 20.9 million board feet in 2004. When the lumber prices rose in the U.S., the
costs of production for home building firms increased.
The U.S. government has realized $3.5 billion from the tariffs and that is sitting in the
Treasury awaiting resolution of legal disputes. Lumber companies in the U.S. have seen
their prices rise with less competition.
James Thayer, “Soft Wood, Hard Dispute,” The Weekly Standard, November 18, 2005.
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According to this application about the U.S. imposing tariffs on lumber from Canada,
after the tariffs were placed on Canadian lumber imports, we could expect the consumer
surplus in the U.S. to:
A) increase.
B) decrease.
C) remain unaffected.
D) none of these
Refer to Table 7.7. If the price of a soda is $2, the price of a hamburger is $6, and
George has $20 of income, George’s utility maximizing combination of sodas and
hamburgers per day is: