Ontario Construction Report staff writer<\/p>\n
The story of the great gypsum board anti-dumping crisis and its successful resolution has proven to be an example of a successful Canadian compromise, because everyone affected by the issue appears to be satisfied with the results.<\/p>\n
Massive punitive anti-dumping duties introduced last September have been rolled back, replaced by a lower and more sustainable levy that allows the single western Canadian gypsum board producer to remain competitive, while contractors receive significant relief for the burdens they faced in fulfilling pre-existing contracts at the pre-dumping duty prices.<\/p>\n
The story erupted when drywall contractors and distributors discovered that the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) <\/strong>would immediately impose the punitive provisional anti-dumping duties on U.S. manufactured gypsum board distributed in western Canada.<\/p>\n The duties were set at varying rates, depending on the manufacturer, but at the highest level would reach 276 per cent.<\/p>\n The new charges sent shockwaves through the industry.<\/p>\n Neil Pollock<\/strong>, a Calgary drywall contractor and spokesperson for the Western Canada Alliance of Wall and Ceiling Contractors (WCAWCC<\/strong>)<\/strong>, said the CBSA collected more than $4.9 million in duties in the first six weeks from when the duties were imposed on Sept. 6.<\/p>\n Prices spiked 30 to 50 per cent, and distributors reported supply shortages nationwide, as the higher costs and shortages spurred the generally uneconomic distribution of the building material from eastern to western Canada.<\/p>\n CertainTeed Gypsum Canada<\/strong>, which operates the only functioning Canadian drywall manufacturing plant in western Canada (in Delta, B.C.) had complained last spring that U.S. manufacturers were dumping their drywall into the Canadian market \u2013 that is selling the product in Canada at prices significantly less than they were in their home markets.<\/p>\n In June, the CBSA reported its investigation validated CertainTeed\u2019s claims, finding that two major U.S. producers \u2013 Georgia Pacific and U.S. Gypsum \u2013 were undercutting the Canadian industry by dumping their product.<\/p>\n However, the shockwaves only hit when the CBSA started imposing the provisional duties in September.<\/p>\n There was a political outcry as homebuilders, distributors and drywall contractors lamented the higher costs \u2013 especially painful in Fort McMurray, recovering from the disastrous fire earlier in the year \u2013 and for contractors who had signed fixed price contracts with their clients. They were now locked into money losing agreements that could bankrupt their businesses.<\/p>\n