U.S., Canada extend lumber agreement

   The United States and Canada on Monday signed a two-year extension of the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA), so that the agreement will be in effect through Oct. 12, 2015.
   “The Softwood Lumber Agreement is very important for U.S. producers, particularly when both sides of the border are facing weak demand,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, in a statement. Monday’s action extends the SLA with no changes.
   The SLA entered into force on Oct. 12, 2006 and was set to expire on Oct. 12, 2013.
   In the agreement, the United States agreed to cease imposing antidumping and countervailing duties on softwood lumber from Canada. In exchange, Canada agreed, among other things, to apply export measures – export charges and volume limitations – to shipments of softwood lumber from Canada to the United States when the price of softwood products falls below a certain level.