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The chief executive officers of Canada\u2019s top lumber producers are set to meet on Thursday with International Trade Minister Mary Ng to spur the Canadian government to start talks with the United States to resolve the long-running softwood dispute.<\/p>\n
The chief executives are seeking to get the softwood file onto the agenda later this month for the summit in Ottawa between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n
Scheduled to participate in a virtual round table discussion late Thursday with Ms. Ng are lumber chief executives from West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., Canfor Corp., Resolute Forest Products Ltd., Interfor Corp., Tolko Industries Ltd. and J.D. Irving Ltd., according to a source familiar with the meeting plans. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.<\/p>\n
Others slated to join the discussion include officials from provincial forestry organizations, as well as from the Meadow Lake Tribal Council in Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n
The 2006 Canada-U. S. softwood agreement expired in October, 2015, with no replacement.<\/p>\n
\u201cMinister Ng will host a round table with softwood lumber industry leaders to continue working hand in hand towards a solution,\u201d Global Affairs Canada confirmed in a statement.<\/p>\n
The protracted trade fight dates back more than 40 years. In the latest round, the U.S. Department of Commerce started imposing duties on Canadian lumber in April, 2017. The countervailing and anti-dumping duty rates have fluctuated since then.<\/p>\n
Current combined U.S. tariffs total 8.59 per cent, consisting of 3.83 per cent in countervailing duties and 4.76 per cent in anti-dumping levies, imposed against most Canadian lumber producers sending shipments south of the border. Irving\u2019s current tariff rate totals 14 per cent, while it\u2019s 8.25 per cent at West Fraser and 5.87 per cent at Canfor.<\/p>\n
Zoltan van Heyningen, executive director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, said the tariffs are necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cA level playing field against subsidized and dumped imports is particularly important during times of down markets when U.S. mills can least afford to lose sales to Canada\u2019s harmful unfair trade practices that endanger U.S. jobs and communities who depend on a vibrant U.S. forestry industry,\u201d he said in a statement on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Ms. Ng suggested that the U.S. lumber lobby\u2019s viewpoint is misguided. \u201cCanada is disappointed that the U.S. continues to impose unwarranted and unprovoked duties on Canadian softwood lumber,\u201d she said in an e-mail sent by Global Affairs Canada. \u201cThe U.S. claims that Canadian industry is subsidized have been refuted time and again by neutral international tribunals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lumber prices reached record highs in May, 2021, but as the economy gradually reopened amid the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers began reallocating their renovation budgets to travel, restaurants and sporting events.<\/p>\n
U.S. lumber producers and timberland owners who complained about Canadian softwood ended up receiving 10 per cent of the US$5-billion in lumber tariffs paid in the previous round of the dispute from 2001 to 2006. Canadian companies recouped 80 per cent of the funds while 9 per cent went to \u201cmeritorious initiatives\u201d in the U.S. and the remaining 1 per cent went to promoting lumber in both countries.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The chief executive officers of Canada\u2019s top lumber producers are set to meet on Thursday with International Trade Minister Mary Ng to spur the Canadian government to start talks with the United States to resolve the long-running softwood dispute. The … Continue reading