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Razorguns
Well-known member
Another war is brewing, and this is gonna be just as financially nasty!
I can't blame the Americans. Grump Canadian liberal bureacrats are such bitches to negotiate with.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/08/31/trade_war_looms_for_us_canada/
Trade war looms for US, Canada
WTO decision on lumber duties divides partners
By Associated Press | August 31, 2005
TORONTO -- Canadian officials were seething yesterday over a preliminary World Trade Organization ruling that found the United States had properly complied with international law by imposing billions of dollars in duties against Canadian lumber companies.
The confidential ruling, released to both countries on Monday, has fueled further talk of an outright trade war between the world's largest trading partners and concerns that the rules of free trade under the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico were unraveling.
A NAFTA panel on Aug. 10 dismissed Washington's claims that Canadian softwood exports are subsidized by Ottawa and therefore damage the US lumber industry.
But Canada's thrill over the perceived victory was short-lived. Washington shrugged off the ruling, saying it didn't take into account a 2004 decision by the US International Trade Commission that found in favor of Washington, and US Trade Representative Rob Portman pledged to maintain punitive tariffs.
Further supporting the US position is the WTO, which found US lumber mills were in fact threatened by government-subsidized lumber imports from Canada.
''The panel's finding confirms that dumped and subsidized imports of softwood lumber from Canada threatened to materially injure the US industry," Neena Moorjani, a spokeswoman for the US trade representative's office, said in a statement yesterday.
''Despite this win, the United States believes that back-and-forth litigation won't solve this 20-year-old issue," Moorjani said. ''The best course . . . is to come to a negotiated solution and we look forward to the resumption of talks."
The finding has infuriated Canadian officials, who still insist the Aug. 10 NAFTA ruling means Washington must reimburse more than $4.1 billion in punitive tariffs levied against Canadian lumber companies since 2002.
''We want the United States to live up to and respect the NAFTA," Canada Trade Minister Jim Peterson told reporters yesterday. ''If NAFTA is going to have meaning, then we all have to live within its rules."
He said the WTO ruling, which won't be final or made public until October, would probably be appealed to the Court of International Trade and would not sway Ottawa from considering retaliatory tariffs against US imports.
David Wilkins, the new US ambassador to Canada, said free trade had served both countries well. Wilkins, whose comments about the ''emotional" tone of the Canadian officials have irritated them even more, urged both sides to tone down the rhetoric and get back to the negotiating table.
The Bush administration imposed the tariffs in 2002 after accusing Canada of subsidizing its lumber industry.
Most US timber is harvested from private land at market prices, while in Canada, the government owns 90 percent of timberlands and charges fees for logging.
I can't blame the Americans. Grump Canadian liberal bureacrats are such bitches to negotiate with.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/08/31/trade_war_looms_for_us_canada/
Trade war looms for US, Canada
WTO decision on lumber duties divides partners
By Associated Press | August 31, 2005
TORONTO -- Canadian officials were seething yesterday over a preliminary World Trade Organization ruling that found the United States had properly complied with international law by imposing billions of dollars in duties against Canadian lumber companies.
The confidential ruling, released to both countries on Monday, has fueled further talk of an outright trade war between the world's largest trading partners and concerns that the rules of free trade under the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico were unraveling.
A NAFTA panel on Aug. 10 dismissed Washington's claims that Canadian softwood exports are subsidized by Ottawa and therefore damage the US lumber industry.
But Canada's thrill over the perceived victory was short-lived. Washington shrugged off the ruling, saying it didn't take into account a 2004 decision by the US International Trade Commission that found in favor of Washington, and US Trade Representative Rob Portman pledged to maintain punitive tariffs.
Further supporting the US position is the WTO, which found US lumber mills were in fact threatened by government-subsidized lumber imports from Canada.
''The panel's finding confirms that dumped and subsidized imports of softwood lumber from Canada threatened to materially injure the US industry," Neena Moorjani, a spokeswoman for the US trade representative's office, said in a statement yesterday.
''Despite this win, the United States believes that back-and-forth litigation won't solve this 20-year-old issue," Moorjani said. ''The best course . . . is to come to a negotiated solution and we look forward to the resumption of talks."
The finding has infuriated Canadian officials, who still insist the Aug. 10 NAFTA ruling means Washington must reimburse more than $4.1 billion in punitive tariffs levied against Canadian lumber companies since 2002.
''We want the United States to live up to and respect the NAFTA," Canada Trade Minister Jim Peterson told reporters yesterday. ''If NAFTA is going to have meaning, then we all have to live within its rules."
He said the WTO ruling, which won't be final or made public until October, would probably be appealed to the Court of International Trade and would not sway Ottawa from considering retaliatory tariffs against US imports.
David Wilkins, the new US ambassador to Canada, said free trade had served both countries well. Wilkins, whose comments about the ''emotional" tone of the Canadian officials have irritated them even more, urged both sides to tone down the rhetoric and get back to the negotiating table.
The Bush administration imposed the tariffs in 2002 after accusing Canada of subsidizing its lumber industry.
Most US timber is harvested from private land at market prices, while in Canada, the government owns 90 percent of timberlands and charges fees for logging.
