Softwood dispute will only push cost of rebuilding Houston higher: economist
OTTAWA — A growing demand for building materials — as Houston looks to reconstruct in the wake of hurricane Harvey — should put pressure on the White House to solve the latest softwood lumber dispute with Canada, a senior bank economist says.
U.S. home builders already use virtually every log imported from Canada, and any increase in demand following the hurricane’s devastation will mean the U.S. looks to Canada for more wood, said Brett House, deputy chief economist at Scotiabank.
“Rebuilding Houston means they are going to have to keep buying every single log they can get their hands on from Canada and that’s really going to provide an incentive to move forward on the softwood lumber discussions in a way that’s constructive for Canada,” House said Wednesday in an interview.
With the softwood dispute pushing prices upwards, continuing the quarrel will only serve to drive up the cost of rebuilding, House says.