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PM announces softwood deal has been struckCTV.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...

WASHINGTON — Congress put its final stamp of approval Wednesday on legislation dumping a trade law that allows U.S. companies to profit from penalties on Canadian imports like softwood lumber. The measure, which goes into effect Oct. 1, 2007, was part of a massive budget-cutting bill passed by the House of Representatives. President George W. Bush said in a statement he looked forward to signing the bill. Canada has always argued the so-called Byrd amendment must go. The five-year-old law allows the Treasury to funnel money from duties on imported goods directly to U.S. rival companies. It's still unclear what...

Liberal Leader Paul Martin said on Wednesday he's not concerned by what officials in Washington think about his remarks on the campaign trail. FROM DEC. 13, 2005: Martin rejects U.S. ambassador's rebuke"I am not going to be dictated to as to the subjects I should raise," Martin said at a lumber mill in B.C. He was responding to comments made by U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins in Ottawa on Tuesday. Wilkins implicitly rebuked Martin for attacking U.S. policies to score political points, suggesting it could have an effect on the future of the cross-border relationship. Martin was unapologetic following Wilkins's speech,...

The Commerce Department said Tuesday it will comply with a NAFTA panel's order to drastically cut U.S. duties on imports of Canadian softwood lumber. U.S. officials said they disagree with the rationale behind the ruling, but respect its authority. The decision, announced late Tuesday, means the United States will reduce the punitive duties, which average about 16 percent, to less than 1 percent. Separate antidumping tariffs averaging about 4 percent will not be affected. Despite its action, the Commerce Department said it retains its right to appeal the NAFTA ruling, which it considers unfair. "We start off with a premise...

Canada suspends softwood talks with U.S. Last Updated Tue, 16 Aug 2005 13:47:58 EDT CBC News Canada has suspended softwood lumber talks with the United States to protest America's refusal to heed a NAFTA ruling that sided with the Canadian position. A scheduled meeting that was to start the next round of talks in the dispute has been cancelled, with no hint of when talks might resume. "Following consultations with provincial governments, and in light of the U.S. response to the Aug. 10 decision of the NAFTA extraordinary challenge committee, the government of Canada has decided to not proceed with...

American protectionism creates fitter Canadians “IT'S the biggest trade battle on the planet,” says Pierre Pettigrew, Canada's trade minister, with only mild exaggeration. In 2001, Canada exported softwood lumber and wood products to the United States worth C$10 billion ($6.5 billion). Unfairly so, thanks to subsidies, squealed the American lumber lobby. Last May, America imposed countervailing duties averaging 27% on Canadian imports. This was supposed to force Canada to negotiate. But now it is the Americans who are suing for peace. This week, at the invitation of the United States' Commerce Department, all parties in the dispute were to gather...

VANCOUVER - - A powerful U.S. senator is set to introduce legislation next week to pay American lumber companies the more than $3 billion in softwood lumber duties the Americans have collected, The Canadian Press has learned. The bill - to be introduced as early as Monday - comes despite the fact the softwood lumber dispute remains mired in trade litigation and the World Trade Organization has found such a move violates international rules. Sources say Sen. Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, plans to introduce the bill to "liquidate" the duties. The money has been held until the outcome of...

VANCOUVER (CP) -- A U.S. trade body has agreed to comply with a NAFTA panel ruling concluding Canadian softwood lumber imports are no threat to the U.S. industry. In a response to the panel decision earlier this month, the U.S. International Trade Commission said it would conclude that "the U.S. softwood lumber industry is not threatened with material injury" by the Canadian imports. But the commission made it clear in a statement Friday it wasn't happy about doing so. "We disagree with the (NAFTA) panel's view that there is no substantial evidence to support a finding of threat of material...

WTO ruling stands in final softwood report The World Trade Organization made public Friday the final report of an earlier ruling on the countervailing duties the United States has imposed on imports of Canadian softwood lumber. The WTO decision, one of many in the long-standing $10-billion softwood lumber war between Canada and its neighbour, found that the United States failed to prove key elements of its case justifying punitive countervailing duties of 18.79 per cent on Canadian exports of softwood timber. Essentially, the WTO recognized that provincial timber sales programs provide benefits to Canadian producers, but rejected the way the...