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WASHINGTON, D.C. - This morning, the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) sent a letter to the Trump Administration outlining the need for stability in the lumber and building materials sector. The letter was sent to the White House and to the U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer.
Since January, NLBMDA has been closely monitoring the Administration’s dynamic position on tariffs and have been in continuous contact with aligned trade associations to reinforce the position of the residential construction industry that in order to tackle housing affordability and best serve consumers, our industry requires price stability and long-term certainty.
"The United States has an affordable housing crisis and we as a nation must be focused on advocating for measures that reduce construction costs and eliminate regulatory barriers, policies to the contrary will detract from advancing the construction of affordable housing and create uncertainty throughout the housing market," said NLBMDA President & CEO Jonathan Paine. "We appreciate the actions taken by President Trump to delay previously scheduled tariffs and urge the United States and its trade counterparts to reach a long-term agreement to ensure stability in the housing and construction sector."
NLBMDA is committed to working with the White House to advance responsible solutions that allow our industry to operate with the long-term stability required to support small business growth and meaningfully address the housing affordability crisis.
Our letters to the Administration can be found here. An excerpt is included below:
“The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA), on behalf of its members, respectfully writes to share the perspectives of our industry regarding the administration’s trade policies and its impact on the lumber and building material (LBM) sector. NLBMDA members operate over 6,000 retail stores serving homebuilders, subcontractors and consumers and are driving forces for localized economic activity. Our members are predominantly family owned and operated businesses who have been deeply rooted within their communities for generations.
Our industry is supportive of the administration’s initiative of increasing domestic sourcing of lumber to reduce reliance on foreign imports through strengthening the U.S. timber industry. However, it is important to recognize that achieving this goal will take time and require significant investment in both infrastructure and sustainable forest management. While domestically available species such as Southern Yellow Pine are a valuable resource, they often do not serve as a direct substitute for the many applications where Canadian Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF) is preferred.
For over 100 years, NLBMDA has served as the voice of the lumber and building materials industry in Washington. NLBMDA is committed to working with this administration to identify solutions that enable our industry and the economy at large to thrive.”
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