Canadian government seeks more industry support for U.S. lumber deal
The Canadian government needs more support from the domestic lumber industry before it will submit the details of a trade deal with the United States for parliament’s approval, the Washington Post reported today.
The deal promises to settle a 20-year trade dispute with the United States over softwood lumber.
The agreement reached between the two countries on July 1 requires Canadian lumber companies to drop claims seeking to recover duties collected during the dispute with the United States. On April 27, the United States tentatively agreed to return $4 billion in duties collected from Canadian lumber producers since 2002.
No U.S. legislation is required to enact the deal. However, the Canadian parliament must approve the terms once it returns in September.
According to the Post, some Canadian lumber companies don’t support the trade deal because they believe it’s “too easy for the United States to quit the accord and that its quota system is too rigid.”