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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed
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To: Knighty Tin who wrote (117719)8/21/2001 2:13:14 PM
From: Mark Adams  Read Replies (1) of 436258
 
Canada Plans to Challenge U.S. Duty on Softwood Lumber Before WTO

Dow Jones Newswires

OTTAWA -- Canadian International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew said Tuesday his nation will challenge the penalty tariff imposed by the U.S. on imported Canadian softwood lumber to the World Trade Organization.

Mr. Pettigrew pledged that the Canadian government would use "every legal measure possible under the WTO to fight the U.S. softwood trade action."

The Commerce Department imposed a 19.3% duty earlier this month, alleging that the Canadian industry benefits from unfair government subsidies. Canadian lumber producers claim that the U.S. duty could cost them two billion Canadian dollars (US$1.29 billion) a year. The U.S. duty has already resulted in employee layoffs at several Canadian logging companies. Canada exports C$10 billion worth of softwood lumber to the U.S. each year.

"I intend to show, as does the Canadian industry and the provinces, that Canada will not bend to unsubstantiated allegations based on protectionism," Pettigrew said. "Our industry wants and demands free trade in softwood lumber."

At the WTO, Canada will formally object to the 19.3% duty, and the U.S. preliminary finding of "critical circumstances" in the case, which means the Commerce Department found that Canadian exports had risen enough to hurt U.S. businesses.

Mr. Pettigrew said Canada has asked the WTO to fast-track the process, requesting the start of the consultation stage of the WTO's dispute-settlement system within the next 10 days.

The Canadian government and lumber producers in Canada have denied U.S. charges that the Canadian lumber is subsidized. U.S. producers say that the stumpage fees charged by provincial governments for logging on Crown land are too low and do not reflect real market costs.

The majority of logging in Canada occurs on government-owned land, while most U.S. logging happens in privately owned forests. In the past, several international trade panels have ruled in Canada's favor. The softwood-lumber dispute has been heating up since the 1995 Softwood Lumber Agreement, which limited Canadian exports to the U.S., expired in March. About 100 members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives signed a letter to President George W. Bush earlier this year, urging him to allow free trade in lumber.

PS: keep telling yourself you love your job. Neurolinguistic programming, ya know.
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