Canada, U.S. 'far apart' on softwood talks: chief negotiator

Canadian and American negotiators aren’t close to reaching a new softwood lumber agreement, Canada’s chief negotiator on the deal, Martin Moen, told the House international trade committee Thursday.

But they’re still holding out hope for a new agreement before a so-called “standstill period” expires in October.

“There are considerable gaps that will need to be bridged in order for a new agreement to be concluded.”

Those gaps, Moen said, include the appropriate structure of the agreement: how to combine export charges and export quotas that result in keeping Canadian exports below an agreed-upon share of the U.S. market; regional exclusions for the Atlantic provinces and the territories; provisions for company exclusions, for mills that source inputs from the U.S. or private lands; the treatment of high-value products, and; the treatment of re-manufacturers.

The 2006 softwood lumber agreement expired last October, initiating a year-long period during which U.S. producers have been unable to pursue new trade remedy actions. So the clock is ticking.

Since an agreement would involve U.S. producers forgoing the right to pursue those trade remedies, it requires the majority of the U.S. industry’s support — which makes the negotiations particularly complicated...

And if there isn’t a successor agreement, Canadian producers almost certainly will be subject once again to exhorbitant anti-dumping and countervailing duties...

“...we are preparing for all eventualities, and are prepared to vigorously protect and defend the interests of softwood lumber producers if there is a return to trade action, to litigation.”...

Negotiations resume on August 25.

This has been excerpted from 18 August 2016 edition of iPolitics.