Maine lumber mill stops buying softwood pulp from New Brunswick due to tariffs

One of the largest lumber mills in Maine, which until recently sourced 30 per cent of its wood fibre from New Brunswick, has stopped buying from the province due to tariffs.

In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson from Woodland Pulp said they have temporarily stopped purchasing Canadian-sourced softwood pulpwood as of a month ago.

“This was driven by the increased cost of the pulp wood and, at the time, a fair amount of uncertainty about the process to comply with the tariff requirements for payment,” wrote Scott Beal in an email.

He went on to say that shortly after Oct. 14, Woodland Pulp projected a 26-day market-related downtime that would begin in mid-November.

“Given the current inventory of both wood chips and round wood  on hand, this gave rise to the halting of all fiber purchases for a period of 60 days,” he continued.

While softwood lumber tariffs have been a contentious issue between Canada and the United States for years, recent tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump appear to be pushing the industry to the brink.

The tariff on Canadian lumber now sits at 45 per cent after an increase in mid-October.

Beal said the “challenging global pulp market” has had an “adverse” impact on the mill’s financial performance.

The lumber industries of New England and New Brunswick are intertwined, and as the executive director of Forest NB puts it, there has always been a “good relationship” between the two regions.

“There are forest products currently that are being sent offshore to other places besides the U.S., however, the U.S. is our biggest export partner and it’s realistic for us to trade with the U.S. just because of our geographic location,” said Kim Allen.

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said the interdependent relationship of the New England and New Brunswick lumber industries have cushioned the blow for a bit.

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“So far the relationships have held up strong where we’ve been able to manage the cost of the tariffs on both sides and share those costs across business but that won’t hold up for long,” said Holt.

“Companies are managing it but the forecast for 2026 is a lot of jobs will be impacted, a lot of companies will be impacted and New Brunswick’s GDP and revenue will be measurably impacted.”

Holt told reporters earlier this week that financial relief was coming for the industry from the federal government in the form of a “significant” package, but details aren’t known yet.