Senator Seeks Import Duties on Canadian Softwood Lumber

(World Trade Interactive)

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, is asking the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to immediately increase import duties on Canadian softwood lumber products due to an alleged violation of the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement. Canadian officials say there is no violation, however, and a February statement from USTR itself suggests that may in fact be the case.

In February an international tribunal ordered Canada to provide a compensatory remedy for a violation of the SLA that resulted in more shipments to the U.S. than were allowed. USTR said at that time that Canada had some flexibility in determining what precise remedy to impose but had only 30 days to take action. If that deadline were not met, USTR said, Canada would have to collect an additional 10% export charge on softwood lumber shipments from its eastern provinces until $54.8 million was collected. If neither of these measures was taken the U.S. would be entitled to impose the additional charges itself. Read more here.