Hefty U.S. duties could be slapped on Canadian timber exports to the United States by early 2017 after a one-year standstill period expired on Wednesday in the long-running softwood lumber dispute between Canada and its biggest trading partner.
This week marked 12 months since a nine-year truce in the perpetual Canada-U.S. softwood conflict ended – with the federal government and the U.S. administration unable to clinch a successor pact despite months of negotiations.
This failure to agree probably means a costly and frustrating new season ahead for Canadian timber companies, which can expect to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the U.S. government in order to keep shipping their product south of the Canadian-U.S. border.
The U.S. lumber lobby behind the dispute with Canada – it alleges provinces subsidize companies through below-market stumpage rates – now says it has “no choice” but to launch a trade challenge with the American government.
Under the U.S. system, preliminary duties can be levied on Canadian softwood imports into the United States six months after an unfair trading case is commenced with the Department of Commerce, and tariffs stay in place while the American government investigates the allegations. They can also be retroactively applied for up to 90 days.
From The Globe And Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/canada-us-to-keep-softwood-talks-going-despite-deadline-expiry/article32326684/