U.S.-Canadian softwood lumber deal ready for implementation

U.S.-Canadian softwood lumber deal ready for implementation The Canadian House of Commons is expected to ratify the recently negotiated U.S.-Canadian Agreement on Softwood Lumber Trade before the end of the month, according to a Wednesday news report in The Globe and Mail of Canada.
   On Sept. 12, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Canada’s International Trade Minister David Emerson signed agreement in Ottawa.
   “We hope to bring to a close over 20 years of litigation — and the market instability and political tension that have often accompanied it,” said Schwab in a statement referring to battles fought over U.S. imports of Canadian softwood lumber.
   “We fully expect that this agreement will have a duration at least seven to nine years,” she added.
   Since 2002, more than $5.3 billion in antidumping and countervailing duties have been collected by the United States on imports of Canadian softwood lumber. Under the new agreement, about $4.3 billion will be returned to the importers of record; $500 million will be disbursed to the trade case petitioners, namely the Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports; $50 million will go to support a binational industry council; and $450 million will help fund “meritorious” initiatives, such as forest management and humanitarian assistance programs.
   The agreement, however, is not without its critics in both Canada and United States. Schwab defended the agreement’s merits.
   “For those who criticize this agreement, I ask them to consider the alternatives,” she said. “Without this agreement, we would see a continuation of litigation — either through continuation of the existing antidumping and countervailing duty orders or through the filing of another round of cases. The duties collected as a result of those cases could be substantially higher than those applied under the settlement and would be susceptible to great volatility.”