I’m Canadian. How can I not care about this issue that has reigned the news over here for the last few years; and has been the cause of much tension between Canada and the US.
Canada claims victory in softwood lumber dispute with U.S.
By BETH DUFF-BROWN
Associated PressTORONTO — Canada claimed victory in the softwood lumber dispute with the United States following a key NAFTA panel ruling on Wednesday, and is demanding quick repayment of billions of dollars in penalties collected by Washington.
The United States responded that it intended to keep imposing the tariffs and resume negotiations with Canada, basically disregarding the ruling Wednesday by an extraordinary challenge panel under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The panel dismissed U.S. claims that an earlier NAFTA ruling in favor of Canada violated trade rules.
The Bush administration imposed the tariffs in 2002 after accusing Canada of subsidizing its lumber industry. Most U.S. timber is harvested from private land at market prices, while in Canada, the government owns 90 percent of timberlands and charges fees for logging. The fee is based on the cost of maintaining and restoring the forest.
Since then, it has lost some $4.1 billion (U.S.) in punitive tariffs.
Canadian trade officials believe the win could be the final blow to the U.S. timber industry’s claims that Canadian producers are unfairly subsidized. But they acknowledge the battle may not be over because the Americans still have some options outside NAFTA, including a formal constitutional challenge or action under WTO regulations.
A statement from the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Washington was disappointment with the ruling, but said it intends to keep in place its punitive tariffs on imports of Canadian softwood lumber.
“It will have no impact on the antidumping and countervailing duty orders,” spokeswoman Neena Moorjani said in a statement.
The U.S. Commerce Department in December cut tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber from an average of 27.2 percent to 21.2 percent, in an effort to appease Ottawa.
“We continue to have concerns about Canadian pricing and forestry practices,” Moorjani said. “We believe that a negotiated solution is in the best interests of both the United States and Canada, and that litigation will not resolve the dispute.”
Both countries said they intended to resume negotiations over the long-standing dispute by the end of August.
But Canadian Trade Minister Jim Peterson was claiming a major victory and said Canada believes the ruling would hasten a negotiated end to the dispute that began more than four years ago.
“We are extremely pleased that the (panel) dismissed the claims of the United States,” Peterson said in a statement. “This is a binding decision that clearly eliminates the basis for U.S.-imposed duties on Canadian softwood lumber.
“We fully expect the United States to abide by this ruling, stop collecting duties and refund the duties collected over the past three years.”