[Recourse]

Here's an example of why tariffs are bad for the average American. The cost of some wood panel products is up more than 40 percent this year. It's one of the biggest such jumps since the early 1990s, when a spike in lumber prices put the housing sector into a frenzy.

The United States imposes an 18% tariff on softwood lumber imports from Canada. These trade restrictions add an estimated $50 to $80 per thousand board feet to the price of lumber, which drives up costs and shrinks profits for lumber users. The resulting addition of $800 to $1,300 to the cost of a new home prices some 300,000 families out of the housing market, denying them the dream of home ownership.

In effect, the U.S. Government lines the pockets of a few producers here at the expense of U.S. homebuilders and families who dream of owning their own homes.

[Barnacle]

The United States imposes an 18% tariff on softwood lumber imports from Canada.

We got our own stinkin' trees. Cut them rather than pollute the air when they go up in smoke.

Tarrifs are bad? Well, they were good enough to pay for the entire operation of the Federal Government until 1913 when Wilson said, "Hey, let's tax income. Oh, come on, just 2%." Sure, tarrifs bad, income tax good.

[Alberta's Child]

Excellent post. You might also add that the U.S. has lost this tariff dispute with Canada every time it has come up before a trade board for NAFTA or GATT. So not only were 300,000 people priced out of the market for new homes, but at the end of the day, the U.S. taxpayer is going to have to pay billions of dollars in refunds and fines to lumber producers in Canada.

[ninenot]

the U.S. Government lines the pockets of a few producers here at the expense of U.S. homebuilders and families who dream of owning their own homes.

The USGovernment, though enviro-policy, has jacked up the price of DOMESTIC lumber.

And in the specific case, there is no benefit accruing to the domestic industry--because domestic lumber is virtually 'off-limits' to cutting.

So the Gummint in its own inimitable way has deprived our loggers of a living AND has raised the cost of imported lumber.

At some point, you must understand that the USG is not necessarily our friend.