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I once had a point, or should I say, it once had me .
One could come up with a number of good arguments against tariffs. Chris Matthews did not choose well among them. Earlier today, the MSNBC commentator complained that American construction companies would lose access to . Canadian wood? Indeed, Matthews chose this particular import to highlight his opposition to Donald Trump’s tariffs, asking, « What is our plan now? We’re going to create more wood — is that it? »
Who wants to tell him?
Chris Matthews on MSNBC:
« We get so much of our lumber, our two by fours from from Canada.What are we going to do? Have more lumber made in the United States now?! »
« What is our plan now.? We’re going to create more wood. Is that it?! »
« Are we going to make more wood in… pic.twitter.com/cVlvJ6SvEu— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 9, 2025
Great point! It’s not as if lumber grows on trees! [Reads urgent bulletin from home office] Er, wait, I have a correction to make here.
The US does in fact have a robust lumber industry. In 2022 alone, the US exported $43 billion in lumber products globally, according to the World Bank, with Canada being the top importer of American lumber ($11.8 billion). In the same year, though, we imported $72 billion in lumber products, including $28.4 billion from Canada, creating the kind of trade deficits that Trump wants to address through tariff policies. The second-ranking source for lumber imports to the US? China, with $10.4 billion in 2022.
In fact, this is precisely the type of situation in which increased incentives for domestic supply might generate good-paying jobs in the US. The COVID-19 pandemic and the tranches of stimulus checks created a temporary demand bubble for home renovations and construction that sent lumber prices soaring, in large part because supply couldn’t scale up to meet demand.
