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Strategies & Market Trends : Fascist Oligarchs Attack Cute Cuddly Canadians -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: marcos who wrote (1071)	9/11/2004 9:33:44 AM
From: Tommy Moore	Respond to of 1293

Yes, it appears this war is won, but not without casualties. Now the big boys await the return of the illegal tariffs, meantime many of the employees and contractors and some entire communities who were squeezed hard by those same companies efforts to survive, will never recover, nor will they see any windfall. More cash means more rationalization and ever greater "efficiencies. Ironically the coast is having a hard time finding guys willing to work in the bush or on the water. Many people with options have left the industry. U.S. agrees to abide by NAFTA panel decision on Canadian softwood 09:12 AM EDT Sep 11 VANCOUVER (CP) - A U.S. trade body has agreed to comply with a NAFTA panel ruling concluding Canadian softwood lumber imports are no threat to the U.S. industry. In a response to the panel decision earlier this month, the U.S. International Trade Commission said it would conclude that "the U.S. softwood lumber industry is not threatened with material injury" by the Canadian imports. But the commission made it clear in a statement Friday it wasn't happy about doing so. "We disagree with the (NAFTA) panel's view that there is no substantial evidence to support a finding of threat of material injury and we continue to view the panel's decisions throughout this proceeding as overstepping its authority, violating the NAFTA, seriously departing from fundamental rules of procedure and committing legal error." As well, the U.S. retains the right to mount a so-called extraordinary challenge under NAFTA. It has done so in the past on other matters, but has never won. On Aug. 31, the U.S. case for levying harsh duties against Canadian softwood lumber imports took what may be a fatal blow from the North American Free Trade Agreement review panel. The panel rejected claims allegedly subsidized Canadian lumber posed a threat of injury to American producers. International Trade Minister Jim Peterson said he's "pleased" with the commission's decision, though federal officials acknowledged the commission's grudging tone. "This determination eliminates the United States' basis for imposing anti-dumping and countervailing duties," Peterson said in a statement. "It is now time for the U.S. to revoke the anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed on Canadian softwood lumber exports and bring an end to this dispute which is long overdue." John Allan, president of the B.C. Lumber Trade Council, said the decision means the process can now begin for the U.S. to repay $2.6 billion in duties. "This is a home run," Allan said. "This is a case-winning decision. We won it all today with this decision." He said if a challenge does come, he expects it by November. But, Allan said, he doesn't see any grounds for a challenge. "The U.S. lumber market is pretty angry with all these processes going against them," he said. "They've basically driven us to be a much more efficient Canadian industry much to their detriment." In unusually strong language, the NAFTA panel ordered that the U.S. International Trade Commission agree the Canadian imports do not amount to a threat of injury and ordered the commission to conform to that position by Sept. 9. This was the third time the NAFTA panel had looked at the U.S. Commerce Department's threat-of-injury argument. The panel sent back the two previous attempts for review. It also scolded the commission for refusing to follow the NAFTA panel's instructions on the previous review, saying U.S. authorities had no fresh evidence to back their claims. A further review would be "an exercise in futility," the panel said. However, the U.S. continued to maintain the NAFTA panel does not have the power to order the U.S. trade body to change its findings. Also, opponents have charged one American panellist violated ethical standards in an unrelated case. Canadian lumber producers ship about $10 billion worth of softwood a year to the United States for home construction and renovation, holding about 34 per cent of total market share. American lumber producers have long contended Canadian imports are subsidized by low Crown timber-cutting fees, known as stumpage, and other provincial forestry policies. In April 2001, the producers launched their fourth trade complaint in two decades, resulting an 18.79 per cent countervailing duty and an 8.2 per cent anti-dumping duty. The levies were cut in half by a series of NAFTA rulings and recalculations by the U.S. Commerce Department. But the lower levies wouldn't take effect unless and until the duties are confirmed. © The Canadian Press, 2004

To: marcos who wrote (1071)	10/16/2004 2:43:21 AM
From: Snowshoe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1293

Canada says US to appeal NAFTA order on lumber dispute news.yahoo.com Thu Oct 14, 6:05 PM ET Canada - AFP OTTAWA (AFP) - The United States plans to challenge a NAFTA ruling that its lumber industry is not threatened by Canadian imports, Canadian International Trade Minister Jim Peterson said. "We have been informed of the US administration's intention to file an extraordinary challenge committee proceeding in the NAFTA injury case. It is their right under NAFTA to make such a request," he said. "We will continue to fight for the interests of our softwood lumber industry and for Canadians," Peterson said. "We know that US producers will use every litigation tool available to them in this dispute, but Canada will continue to mount a strong case. The 20-year-old US-Canada softwood dispute reemerged in 2001 after the expiration of a trade deal. A US anti-dumping investigation resulted in Washington imposing duties ranging from 2.18 percent to 12.44 percent on Canadian softwood products in April 2002. Washington has claimed -- and Ottawa has flatly denied -- that Canadian softwood is subsidised and that a so-called flood of Canadian imports has been injurious to the United States. Canada took the dispute to the World Trade Organization (news - web sites) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) review panel, which rejected claims by Washington that its lumber producers had suffered damage as a result of Canadian imports. The panel ordered the US International Trade Commission to reverse its determination on the lumber imports, which resulted in the laying of 19 percent countervailing duties on Canadian wood, within 10 days. The World Trade Organisation had also previously ruled in Canada's favor on the matter, in one of the most significant of a string of reverses for the US lumber industry over the issue. "All along, Canada has maintained that the American industry is not injured by Canadian softwood. Our position will not change," Peterson said.