Prime Minister Stephen Harper recieves a standing ovation after announcing a softwood lumber deal with the United States, in the House of Commons in Ottawa Thursday April 27, 2006.(CP / Tom Hanson)
Posted on 04/27/2006 7:51:54 PM PDT by NorthOf45
PM announces softwood deal has been struck
CTV.ca News Staff
April 27, 2006
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Thursday the government has come to an agreement with Washington to settle the long-simmering softwood lumber dispute.
"I am pleased to announce today that the United States has accepted Canada's key conditions for the resolution of the softwood lumber dispute. Canada's bargaining position was strong, our position was clear, and this agreement delivers," said Harper in a speech in the House of Commons.
"This is a deal that resolves a long-standing dispute and allows us to move on."
As part of the deal, Harper said the U.S. has agreed to give Canada "unrestricted access" to the American lumber market, under the current market conditions.
"This means no quota, no tariffs," said Harper to the applause of his MPs.
Harper said the U.S. has also agreed to return at least $4 billion in duties it has collected since 2002 to Canadian producers.
He said the government, tired of the "legal wrangling" in the ongoing dispute, asked the Americans for a long-term solution.
They responded, he said, with "a seven-year deal -- with a possibility of renewal."
Harper said the U.S. has also agreed to:
- A return to an exemption in duties for Atlantic lumber producers.
- An exemption for Canadian sawmills on the border between Quebec and the U.S.
- "Third country provisions" aimed at easing Canadian concerns about other countries gaining U.S. market share at Canada's expense.
Earlier, the prime minister was absent from Commons for the initial part of Thursday's question period; he was reportedly on the phone, furiously lobbying the provinces to accept the proposal.
Harper later announced that he received the support of British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec -- the top lumber producing provinces in the nation.
B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell told reporters in Victoria Thursday afternoon that although the deal isn't perfect, it's a "reasonable" one for Canada, and a "good" one for B.C.
"We think we've crafted a trade agreement that allows for different responses from different parts of the country. This is a fair trade agreement which will provide the stability we want," said Campbell, whose province accounts for more than half of Canada's $10-billion annual lumber exports to the U.S.
Ontario's Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay, who voiced his fierce opposition to an earlier, leaked version of the deal, expressed optimism Thursday.
The deal, as it was proposed on Wednesday, would have resulted in Ontario's share of the country's softwood lumber exports to the U.S. totalling about nine per cent -- below the province's historical share of roughly 10.5 per cent.
This would result in massive layoffs at northern Ontario mills, according to Ramsay.
But he said that after speaking with political colleagues across the country, he became confident a solution can be found that would satisfy Ontario mills.
"There's goodwill in the country to work together," Ramsay said outside the Ontario legislature in Toronto.
"While this arrangement would require each jurisdiction to make some concessions, Ontario got a critical element -- a more reasonable share of softwood exports."
In Quebec, Premier Jean Charest welcomed the agreement, saying it will benefit the Quebec economy which is heavily dependent on the forest sector.
"Throughout these negotiations, the Quebec government defended the province's interests and those of workers in the forestry sector and in outlying regions," Charest said in a statement.
The U.S. Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports, which has waged an aggressive battle against Canadian softwood, has also apparently embraced the agreement.
Critics
The deal sparked sharp criticism, however, from the Opposition and critics, who have accused the federal government of selling-out to the Americans.
Liberal Opposition Leader Bill Graham said the deal is good only as long as present-day economic conditions last.
"And we know that when we see the details of this agreement, we will see draconian measures in that agreement that will punish our industry -- the minute the conditions in the United States go down," said Graham.
"And the American industry, which has been sold out to in this agreement, says we're going to shut Canadian lumber out now because it's not in our interests."
Graham said the agreement will leave $1 billion collected from Canada's softwood producers in U.S. hands.
And NDP Leader Jack Layton called it "a sellout ... it's really shocking.''
Washington
In Washington, U.S. and Canadian trade officials announced the agreement at a joint U.S.-Canada news conference at the Canadian Embassy.
"This agreement is an historic opportunity to resolve a dispute that has lasted for more than two decades," U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman said.
Canadian International Trade Minister David Emerson called the deal "a watershed moment" in trade relations.
"This agreement is the result of the greatest show of determination in trade diplomacy, in my view, that North America has seen since the negotiation of the NAFTA agreement itself,'' Emerson said.
"We accomplished more in 80 days than any Canadian government has accomplished in the last decade."
The deal
The first breakthrough came early this week after around-the-clock discussions between Michael Wilson, Canada's ambassador to Washington, and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab.
The talks resulted in a framework deal, but according to the Canadian Press, the Canadian lumber industry had reservations about some of the details.
Discussions between the B.C. government and lumber industry officials followed, resulting in proposed amendments to the framework which Wilson forwarded to American officials Thursday morning.
According to CP sources, Wilson returned with a package that amended the point where a border tax would kick in.
The amended package also changed the definition of market share, related to the cap on Canada's portion of the U.S. lumber market.
It also amends the so-called anti-surge rate -- which penalizes lumber-producing regions and companies that exceed their quotas under the seven-year deal.
With files from CTV's Ottawa bureau chief Robert Fife and The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Stephen Harper recieves a standing ovation after announcing a softwood lumber deal with the United States, in the House of Commons in Ottawa Thursday April 27, 2006.(CP / Tom Hanson)
Ping
After reading the article, the impression I get is that this whole business is exceedingly complicated, and who knows who benefited and who gets the short end?
The Canadian Liberals are screaming, but of course they would do so in any case. They were bad sports in office and they will be worse sports now.
Hopefully, it's a fair deal for all concerned.
Canada ping.
America gets wood!
Kerry: Bush owns a wood company
I can't imagine why the Canadians would have comprimised on the illegally collected tarrifs. They are entitled to every penny.
Dean: Halliburton owns all American and Canadian lumber!
May the large US mills all be abandoned for what their administrators did to the American and Canadian people. And may oil rise to the price level where it will be unaffordable to send another US board load to China.
Get self-sufficient and let the industry-hopping spoiled brats do what they wish.
In this, Republicans differ not one whit from Democrats -- and, I daresay, nor do Tories and Grits.
One group that definitely got the short end for the past ten years has been Americans buying new homes made of wood. The price of such a home has been increased by about two to three thousand dollars because of the tariffs on and blocking out of lumber imports.
No agreement is going to make either party (or parties) 100 percent happy. But what Harper has done is to find a workable solution that gets the best deal possible for Canada, and while the Liberals, led by their smug pompous ass Bill Graham will rant and rave and scream about it (as is the NDP's Jack Layton who I am sure is actually that guy "The Video Professor" who gives out free Windows CDs on TV), the fact is it is far better to achieve an agreement that puts the conflict behind both the U.S. and Canada, moves forward, and returns a massive amount of cash back to Canada. Bill Graham was blubbering away in the House of Commons last night about "it should be FIVE billion, not FOUR billion, where is the extra MONEY?!?", I was hoping that some Conservative might have said "Bill, don't you know about the exchange rate? 4 billion U.S. equals just about 5 billion Canadian!"
Bravo to Harper and the Conservatives. The Liberals would have preferred to NEVER have an agreement, that way they would always have a fresh supply of venom for their anti-U.S. glands and fangs.
Harper struck a very acceptable deal for Canada. Quick action and a surprisingly fair deal for Canada given the short timeframe Harper got this done in.
Word is he was in Bush's ear constantly about getting this done. His relentless badgering paid off.
BONUS: Canadian Libs are squealing loudly and they look completely incompetent for not being able to accomplish this.
This just goes to show that diplomacy achieves a lot more than abuse. There are other groups in this world who could learn a lesson from this.
I think that on this issue the Libs were taking the same approach that socialists take with poverty issues. IMO they never wanted the dispute to be resolved because it made great fodder for the Yank-bashers.
Exactly. Just as the steel protectionism has ruined it for car buyers and sugar protectionism makes American pop taste like cr@p.
To which I would respond, "Well, if you didn't create the gun registry we'd be a billion ahead!"
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