<The Republicans are not amateurs at this either>.......as witness the contracts (no bid) awarded to Halliburton, KBR, Bechtal, etc. for reconstruction of Iraq.
In principle I agree with you Kenneth. However there are some issues that continuously pop up that require NAFTA & WTO clarification.
U.S. trade body says U.S. lumber industry may be hurt by Canadian exports
ALLAN SWIFT
Canadian Press
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
A fork lift moves a bundle of wrapped lumber at the Doman Silvertree Mill in Vancouver, B.C. (CP)
CREDIT: (CP)
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MONTREAL (CP) - Canadian lumber producers will probably face another year of punitive duties after a U.S. trade agency ruled Tuesday that imports from Canada may be hurting American sawmills.
A spokesman for a Canadian lumber lobby said the expected ruling was just another delaying tactic on behalf of the U.S. lumber lobby that will eventually result in Canada winning its case before international trade bodies. But Carl Grenier, executive vice-president of the Free Trade Lumber Council that represents most Canadian lumber producers, said it will put pressure on the Canadian industry - suffering from U.S. import duties of 27 per cent - to accept a political decision like the one recently proposed.
In its decision announced Tuesday, the U.S. International Trade Commission upheld its earlier finding that Canadian lumber is threatening injury to the American industry and declined to recalculate the duties as requested by a free-trade panel earlier this summer.
It said Canadian imports flooding the U.S. market are the main reason that U.S. prices for lumber collapsed to decade lows in January 2001 and again in November 2002.
"Overproduction remains a problem in Canada and the likely market for this excess production is the U.S.," said the trade commission.
In September, a panel under the North American Free Trade Agreement - with three U.S. and two Canadian members - ruled that the ITC had failed to show Canadian timber pricing practices had hurt or threatened U.S. producers, and asked it to show the evidence within 100 days.
Grenier said the ITC came up with no new evidence. He said administrative bodies like the ITC and the U.S. Department of Commerce usually need two or three remands - they do not reverse their decisions.
"They don't want to be seen by their constituents, the U.S. industry, as bowing to pressure from international tribunals."
Grenier expects that by next April the NAFTA panel will reverse the ITC decision.
He expects the U.S. will then ask for an extraordinary challenge committee, the last appeal level, that will add another four months to the process.
"With some delays were looking at next fall to a final determination."
The ruling comes less than two weeks after the Bush administration proposed a framework deal to limit Canadian exports to the United States and refund only half the $1.8 billion in duties the Canadian industry has paid so far.
Canada has yet to respond; however, most Canadian lumber companies oppose the deal.
Canada's $10-billion-a-year softwood industry currently holds about 33 per cent of the U.S. market, down from its peak of just more than 35 per cent in 1995.
Thousands of lumber workers have been laid off in B.C. and other provinces as sawmills closed due to the duties of 27 per cent imposed since May 2002.
Frank Dottori, a senior industry executive and co-chairman of the Free Trade Lumber Council, said he was not surprised by the U.S. commission ruling.
"This is a perfect example of why Canada must pursue the legal avenue to its conclusion in the softwood lumber dispute," said Dottori, chief executive of Tembec, a major Quebec-based forest company.
"The decision announced today is typical of U.S. agencies foot-dragging on trade issues."
Federal Trade Minister Jim Peterson said he disagrees with the commission's finding, but Ottawa will review the decision and consult the provinces and industry before deciding on the next move.
Meanwhile, a U.S. lobby group called American Consumers for Affordable Homes said the ITC decision is wrong and should again be rejected by a NAFTA panel.
"We believe that NAFTA again will reject the flawed ITC conclusion, allowing the duties to be removed and the cases terminated as early as March," said spokeswoman Susan Petniunas.
© Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press |
