Investing.com - The dollar gained against the loonie on Tuesday in Asia after U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday his agency will impose new anti-subsidy duties averaging 20% on Canadian softwood lumber imports, a move that escalates a long-running trade dispute between the two countries.
USD/CAD traded up 0.33% to 1.3545 after a report on Reuters on the move.
Speaking to Reuters by phone a day ahead of the expected announcement, Ross said that the duties would affect $5 billion worth of softwood lumber imports from Canada.
"It's about 31.5% of the total U.S. market, so it's a pretty big deal in terms of the Canadian relationship," he said.
The trade case was filed at Commerce against Canadian lumber producers by their U.S. competitors, who argued that Canadian timber grown on public lands receives an effective subsidy from the government that is unavailable to the U.S. firms, who cut timber grown largely on private land.