Prepare for more news on softwood lumber.
Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast, is due to meet Monday in Washington, D.C. with U.S. trade representative, Ron Kirk.
iPolitics confirmed Friday that they’ll be talking about softwood lumber, though a spokesman from Kirk’s office would not provide further details.
While other such trade issues as potential ‘buy American’ provisions, and the Keystone XL pipeline have dominated headlines, the contentious lumber deal between Canada and the U.S. has slipped from view. But Canada’s recent expressed interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could return the softwood lumber deal to the fore.
In a letter to the Office of the United States Trade Representative on Friday, the U.S. Lumber Coalition suggested Canada’s participation in the TPP talks could allow the United States to permanently address three remaining irritants in the longstanding softwood lumber dispute.
The letter identified three problem areas: log export controls, NAFTA’s Chapter 19 review of anti-dumping and countervailing duty decisions, and the more familiar irritant — the provinces’ use of timber ownership to provide a competitive advantage to domestic industry.
In the letter, the coalition quotes a recent statement from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “Too often, national favorites enjoy preferential access to government resources,” she said. “That gives these companies, whether they are wholly owned or partially owned by a government, an unfair advantage … We are working to include a chapter on state-owned enterprises in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”
In such a case, the price of participation could be steep for Canada’s softwood lumber exporters.
Original Article
Source: iPolitics
Author: Colin Horgan
Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast, is due to meet Monday in Washington, D.C. with U.S. trade representative, Ron Kirk.
iPolitics confirmed Friday that they’ll be talking about softwood lumber, though a spokesman from Kirk’s office would not provide further details.
While other such trade issues as potential ‘buy American’ provisions, and the Keystone XL pipeline have dominated headlines, the contentious lumber deal between Canada and the U.S. has slipped from view. But Canada’s recent expressed interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could return the softwood lumber deal to the fore.
In a letter to the Office of the United States Trade Representative on Friday, the U.S. Lumber Coalition suggested Canada’s participation in the TPP talks could allow the United States to permanently address three remaining irritants in the longstanding softwood lumber dispute.
The letter identified three problem areas: log export controls, NAFTA’s Chapter 19 review of anti-dumping and countervailing duty decisions, and the more familiar irritant — the provinces’ use of timber ownership to provide a competitive advantage to domestic industry.
In the letter, the coalition quotes a recent statement from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “Too often, national favorites enjoy preferential access to government resources,” she said. “That gives these companies, whether they are wholly owned or partially owned by a government, an unfair advantage … We are working to include a chapter on state-owned enterprises in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”
In such a case, the price of participation could be steep for Canada’s softwood lumber exporters.
Original Article
Source: iPolitics
Author: Colin Horgan
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