US, Canada Trade Ministers Working on New Softwood Lumber Agreement
President Barack Obama “welcomed” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s interest in a new long-term bilateral trade agreement for softwood lumber, according to a White House fact sheet (here). Both U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Canadian Minister of International Trade…
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Chrystia Freeland were tasked with exploring “all options” for concluding such an agreement and with reporting back within 100 days on ways to address the issue. The 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement lapsed on Oct. 12 (see 1510130010). Obama also noted to Trudeau “recent legislative and regulatory action” to repeal country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements for beef and pork, which bring the U.S. into compliance with international trade obligations, the White House said. The Agricultural Marketing Service on March 2 completed its repeal of the COOL requirements for certain products (see 1603020019). “Canada and the United States have a shared interest in a return to a fully integrated North American market for cattle and hogs that provides more opportunities and greater economic benefits for producers on both sides of the border,” the fact sheet says.