Optimism, Scant Progress, in US-Canada Lumber Fight
By Allan Dowd
Tuesday November 20 5:20 PM EST
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The latest efforts to end the softwood lumber trade fight between Canada and the United States appeared snarled on Tuesday in a dispute over the countries' differing land-ownership systems.
Special U.S. trade envoy Marc Racicot and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell emerged from meetings in Vancouver saying they were optimistic a resolution to the costly fight could be found.
But they offered little evidence to support the upbeat words, and although the countries have been arguing over lumber trade for decades, Racicot said they were still trying to understand each other's positions.
This latest flare-up in the trade fight began in April with the end of a five-year agreement under which Canada had put a cap on its softwood lumber exports to the United States. With the expiry of that deal, the United States has imposed duties and anti-dumping penalties in the range of 32 percent on Canadian lumber used in housing construction.
Both countries argue they are in favor of free trade, but have long been at odds over how to determine the cost of cutting trees in Canada's vast public forests.
U.S. sawmills, which rely more on privately owned forests, say Canada's pricing systems subsidize producers. Canada denies the claim, and argues that less efficient U.S. mills are only using the argument to protect their markets.
In provinces such as British Columbia -- which produces half the C$10 billion ($6.3 billion) of Canadian lumber shipped to the United States each year -- cutting fees on public land are a major source of government revenue.
"There are just challenges that come from different customs and histories that we're trying to make sure we bring definition to," said Racicot.
The United States wants Canada to use auctions to determine the price of cutting trees in its forests, but Racicot said both sides have realized only recently that they have very different views of what constitutes an auction.
"Quite honestly while we speak the same language on most occasions there were difference connotations that we became aware of," Racicot said.
Canadian officials have hailed President Bush's appointment last month of Racicot, a former Montana governor, as an envoy in the dispute, saying it was evidence the White House was interested in resolving the fight.
"I can tell you that the governor has shown an openness and constructiveness of approach that gives me a sense of confidence that we can move forward to resolution," Campbell told a news conference.
($1=$1.59 Canadian) |
