Habitat for Humanity gets lumber duties

[CHIMO]

WASHINGTON — Three U.S. non-profit agencies are getting almost half a billion dollars in duties from Canadian lumber companies under the softwood lumber deal.

The groups, announced Friday by U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, include the respected Habitat for Humanity that's supported by former president Jimmy Carter and builds homes for low-income people.

That eumenical Christian ministry will get US$100 million to buy lumber and build some 4,000 houses for about US$25,000 each, some in communities recovering from natural disasters like the southern Gulf region hit by hurricane Katrina last year.

The American Forest Foundation, a non-profit education and conservation organization founded in 1982, will get US$150 million to promote sustainable forests and help U.S. communities that depend on the timber industry.

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