The British Columbia government said Monday it will open a “forest trade office” in London, United Kingdom, in an effort to boost exports to Europe.
The announcement comes as U.S. tariffs, including duties and tariffs, on Canadian forest products reached 45 per cent earlier this month.
“I don’t want workers to be in this situation again. We can’t trust the United States anymore,” Forest Minister Ravi Parmar told CBC. on the coast. “And in the case of forestry, we are too dependent on the United States.”
Crown Corporation Forestry Innovation Investment will open an office in the United Kingdom that will provide a stronger base for sales in Europe and eventually the Middle East and North Africa, according to the province.
The agency already has offices in China, India and Vietnam, as well as a presence in Japan and South Korea.
Parmar previously said in a statement that U.S. President Donald Trump continues to “attack our forestry workers and our economy” and added that work to expand British Columbia’s export targets was long overdue.
“I think coastal British Columbia is well positioned to be able to offer world-class wood products,” he said.
“That will be my focus: making sure that products that were normally destined for the United States find markets in Europe and those [other] markets.”
BC will run anti-tariff ads in some US states in November, despite President Donald Trump saying he will end trade negotiations with Canada over similar ads in Ontario. British Columbia Economic Growth Minister Ravi Kahlon said “it’s important to speak directly to American citizens.”
According to the most recently released data, by June 2025, the United States remains the largest market for British Columbia’s forestry exports, worth more than $3.3 billion. China followed with $1.2 billion and Japan with $359 million, while all other markets combined accounted for $722 million.
The impact of weakening U.S. sales due to tariffs and rising tariffs on softwood lumber, plus reduced access to fiber supplies, has led to widespread job losses and reductions, and companies say they need support.
Anti-tariff announcements will arrive in November
The provincial government also said it will run anti-tariff ads online targeting American consumers and focusing on the forestry industry, despite Trump’s apparent anger over similar Ontario ads that aired during World Series games in the United States.
On Friday, after Trump announced an additional 10 percent tariff on Canadian goods due to the announcement, British Columbia Premier David Eby posted a defense of the strategy on social media.
“Americans need to hear how tariffs are driving up prices. We are making ads to defend British Columbia and Canadian forestry workers,” he wrote in a post.
It was followed by another that said: “It is important for us to speak directly with Americans seeking to build [a] house or reform. The costs of this work are increasing, because Donald Trump has imposed additional tariffs on top of already unfair duties on softwood lumber.”
Ravi Kahlon, BC’s economic growth minister, told CBC News that unlike Ontario’s commercials, which aired on television, BC’s will be online-only. They will be announced sometime in November.
