Canada Wishes for Renewed Softwood Lumber Agreement
A parliamentary committee on trade in Ottawa says Canada should increase its efforts to reach a suspension agreement on U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty cases against its softwood lumber exports, including by appointing a specific "softwood lumber emissary" and by making the issue a high-level priority when the prime minister speaks to the U.S. president.
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The House of Commons report, first reported by Inside U.S. Trade, noted that while most politicians and the home-building sector don't have the ability to participate in the antidumping and countervailing duty cases or settlement negotiations, "some legislators and firms in the United States share Canada’s interest in ending -- or, barring that, reducing -- the United States’ ADs and CVDs." Collaborating with those supportive politicians and industry groups "could help to enhance Canadian softwood lumber producers’ access to the U.S. market, with benefits for both countries, including through the construction of more affordable homes for Americans," they wrote Nov. 20.
A softwood lumber agreement covered imports of Canadian products 2006-2015; that agreement allowed unfettered trade when prices reached certain levels. When the cost of dimensional lumber dropped in the U.S., Canada had to either restrict exports or charge export taxes.
When the last agreement ended, Canada implied that the U.S. was offering unfavorable terms (see 1609160015), and that it would sue over AD/CVD instead of accepting a deal that was too protectionist.