The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Sept. 12, edition that the United States Department of Commerce (USDC) has rejected a request from Canada's shake and shingle industry to be exempt from tariffs against Canadian softwood lumber. The Globe's Brent Jang writes that the Shake and Shingle Alliance asked the USDC in June to review the scope of products that fall under the softwood file. U.S. tariffs average 20.23 per cent against most Canadian lumber sent south of the border. In a ruling this week, the USDC cited a passage from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wood Handbook, which refers to the production of shakes and shingles as being part of the lumber sector. "This excerpt supports the proposition that there is no clear distinction between shake and shingle production and the lumber industry," according to a 20-page ruling from the USDC's anti-dumping and countervailing duty operations. The Canadian alliance argues its members' cedar products are thin enough to warrant tariff exemptions, and should not be confused with lumber. Cedar shakes and shingles are used mostly for roofing, but also for siding. The USDC's decision this week is a painful blow to Canadian shake and shingle producers.