Steve Payne
New tariff means higher drywall prices in Western Canada
Canadian ContractorCanadian border authorities imposed the import tariff on Sept. 6, in response to complaints about "dumping" of American product
Contractors in Western Canada are now being hit with higher prices for drywall, following the imposition of a new tariff this week.
The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal imposed the new tariff on drywall imports into Western Provinces from the United States, Sept. 6.
No one yet knows how high drywall prices will go. However one credible source, Hardlines.ca, the leading news service for Canada’s building supply dealers, predicts drywall prices in Western Canada will rise 60 per cent. See their story here.
Price hikes will definitely be substantial. The new tariff ranges from 105 to 276.5 per cent, depending on the drywall supplier.
The origin of the tariff was a complaint from CertainTeed, which is based in Pennsylvania but which also has important drywall plants in Canada, that competitors were “dumping” cheap drywall product into this country.
CertainTeed alleged that these competitors were flooding Western Canada with US-manufactured drywall at substantially less than Canadian market prices.
“Our actions are meant to stop this practice and bring a level playing field to the Western Canadian marketplace by having all manufacturers conform to regulatory and legal requirements as prescribed under Canadian law,” Matthew Walker, general manager of CertainTeed Gypsum Canada, said in e-mailed statements to media.
Contractors, we welcome your comments – and especially what pricing changes you are being hit with – following this new tariff.
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Wow this is what greed does .I just signed a $1.5 million contract and I’m doomed before I start . I’ve been in this business for 32 years and have seen this market have its hurdles mainly due to the government. now we have two evils working together our industry has we know it is screwed.
Small business , small taxpaying Canadians are the victims
Our tax dollars stay in Canada , this helps the corporations pad their pockets and the head office in another country benefits who exactly?
This should help their stock prices! At least their shareholders will be pleased??
Saddened by the federal governments decision and lack of knowledge to an entire sector of the Canadian economy. Wrong people making decisions
I’m not sure why the federal government would put the interests of one Canadian/American manufacturer ahead of the interests of the hundreds of thousands of Canadians like me who are working in construction and use drywall, not to mention every homeowner who might want to do some renovations. It reeks of cronyism. “Dumping” is just a politicized way of saying that a product is abundant and so prices for it should be going down, which I think we should be celebrating.
What a bunch of bull, it’s merely a money grab and the little guy pays the price.
if you can’t compete in your business GET OUT
I can not believe that our own government would allow so many Canadians to have to pay up to 60% more for their drywall because they didn’t take care of business when they should have. The added costs to a large house is astronomical and just plain and simply not fair. I could not be more disappointed in the people responsible for this hurtful and ridiculous decision.
What 3 U.S. companies are being penalized for dumping?
What is their tariff penalty percentage?
As a homeowner, I would like to buy gyproc made in Canada or made by a company which is not dumping into Canada.
Please publish this information .
Dorothy:
In their application for tariff protection in Western Canada, CertainTeed Gypsum Canada named a number of U.S. drywall manufacturers it claimed or suspected were ‘dumping’ drywall products into Canada. They were:
Continental Building Products
Georgia-Pacific Gypsum
USG Corporation
PABCO Gypsum
American Gypsum Company
These companies have a number of brand names for their products, too many to name here. You will have to research the names of the actual manufacturer when you go shopping.
In addition, it is interesting to note that CertainTeed Canada’s sister company in the USA is also subject to the new tariff on exports they make into the Western Canadian market.
too bad for for that gypsum or any other product maker that they cant make there ultra high profits-at the cost of jobs and in all likeihood likes-wake up do not buy from that company ever again hopefully they will be the ones out of a job!!