Prime Minister Mark Carney said securing a new agreement with Washington on Canadian softwood lumber is his government’s “top priority” as broader trade negotiations with the United States intensify ahead of an Aug. 1 tariff deadline. Carney told reporters he wants the long-running lumber dispute resolved alongside other outstanding trade issues. Canadian producers currently face a combined 17% in anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and the U.S. Commerce Department has signalled plans to more than double that rate to 34.45% as early as September. Softwood lumber is not covered by the USMCA, leaving it vulnerable to both the proposed duty increase and a separate threat by President Donald Trump to impose a 35% tariff on non-compliant Canadian goods beginning next month. Carney said he is working closely with British Columbia Premier David Eby—whose province accounts for roughly one-third of Canada’s softwood output and 40% of shipments to the United States—to craft a deal that could include managed-trade elements such as export quotas. The prime minister acknowledged that any broader accord may still leave some U.S. levies in place but argued that a negotiated settlement would provide greater certainty for an industry central to Canada’s forest economy.