The countervail duties imposed by the United States on softwood lumber products from Canada are going to hurt the financial bottom line for West Kelowna’s Gorman Bros. Lumber.
“The fact is it’s money taken from us,” says company spokesperson Nick Arkle. “It’s very significant. Anytime you get hit with a 20 per cent duty it’s considered punitive.”
But the new duties shouldn’t hurt the finances of Gorman’s 1200 employees, including 300 at the West Kelowna operations.
Arkle says there are no plans for lay-offs or shift reductions.
“We’ve told our employees we have a Plan B. That is we will find other markets.”
The company has reduced its reliance on the American market by finding new, off-shore customers.
“Ten years ago we were selling to 15 countries around the world. Today we sell to 30 countries,” says Arkle who expects the duties will eventually be reduced through negotiations.
“The result they want right now is to hurt our industry and that’s what this has been designed to do and it will succeed until we end up with a negotiated agreement.”
In the meantime, it’s business as usual for Gorman Bros. Lumber.