The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) released their national policy agenda for 2026. In this they outlined their vision for housing and construction, tax and economic policy, legal reform and consumer protection, workforce policy, environment, health and safety, production supply and trade, energy and transportation.
Highlights of their framework include supporting the Timber Innovation Act to advance tall wood building construction. The NLBMDA supports and wants to advance building codes that would allow for construction of wood framed buildings larger than six stories. This is supported by recent activities in building that allows for responsible mass timber products, with an increased advantage of storing carbon in buildings.
A major point of advocacy in 2025 was around trade agreements and the U.S. imposition of tariffs on imported lumber. As of currently, around one-third of all framing lumber in the U.S. is imported from Canada, NLBMDA reinforced that even in challenging times, domestic product cannot meet the demand for framing lumber. The NLBMDA outlines their opposition of excessive tariff policy that decreases product availability while increasing costs. They support work on a future agreement on the U.S.- Canadian softwood lumber dispute and further agreements that meet domestic demand.
“Since NLBMDA’s founding in 1917, NLBMDA has and will continue to work with federal agencies throughout the rulemaking process to ensure the perspectives of the LBM industry are voices,” wrote Frank Addiego, Chair NLBMDA.
