Canada criticizes U.S. softwood lumber duties, vows to
resist
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[January 04, 2018]
By Rod Nickel
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - The Canadian
government on Wednesday criticized the United States for a decision to
impose duties on certain softwood lumber exports and underlined its
determination to fight the move.
The duties, which went into effect on Wednesday, are "unfair,
unwarranted and troubling," Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a
statement.
Ottawa has already launched challenges against the duties - which range
from about 10 percent to nearly 24 percent, below a preliminary range of
about 17 percent to 31 percent - with the World Trade Organization (WTO)
and through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
"The government of Canada will continue to vigorously defend our
industry and its workers against protectionist trade practices,"
Freeland said.
The U.S. Commerce Department's decision imposes anti-dumping and
anti-subsidy duties affecting about $5.66 billion worth of lumber and
comes amid increasingly acrimonious talks on renegotiating NAFTA, the
trilateral trade pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he had every confidence the
administration of President Donald Trump would win the trade challenges
Canada has launched.
"(We) will continue to stand up against unfair trade practices that harm
American workers and businesses. Even our closest allies must follow the
rules," he said in a statement.
The Commerce Department accuses Canada of unfairly subsidizing and
dumping softwood lumber, which is commonly used in the construction of
homes. Canada denies it is dumping the lumber.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressed confidence that
the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission closely
followed U.S. law and that their actions were consistent with the
country's WTO obligations.
"We will of course defend this case and expect to prevail,” Lighthizer
said.
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A log driver works a barge of Canadian logs at Squamish Mills Ltd in
Howe Sound near Squamish, British Columbia, Canada, April 25, 2017.
REUTERS/Ben Nelms/File Photo

Some of the main affected Canadian firms are West Fraser Timber Co Ltd, Canfor
Corp, Conifex Timber Inc, Western Forest Products Inc, Interfor Corp and
Resolute FP Canada Ltd. Shares in the firms were little changed on Wednesday.
The decision to impose tariffs followed failed talks to end the decades-long
dispute between the two countries. The row centers on the fees paid by Canadian
lumber mills for timber cut largely from government-owned land. Those fees are
lower than fees paid on U.S. timber, which comes largely from private land.
Joe Patton, U.S. Lumber Coalition Co‐Chair and Vice President of Wood Products
at The Westervelt Company, defended the U.S. move on Wednesday.
"These duties are a fair enforcement of U.S. trade law. For decades, the
Canadian government has abused the law and provided massive subsidies to its
lumber industry, harming U.S. producers and workers," he said.
The Lumber Trade Council of British Columbia, a province with a significant
forestry industry, said last month it was confident the decision would be
overturned, calling it "completely without merit."
Around 33 percent of the lumber used in the United States in 2016 was imported,
with more than 95 percent coming from Canada, according to the U.S. National
Association of Homebuilders.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; and David Ljunggren in Ottawa;
Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by Chizu
Nomiyama, Jim Finkle and Susan Thomas)
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