B.C. and Ottawa applaud NAFTA decision on U.S. softwood lumber duties
OTTAWA –
Officials in Ottawa and British Columbia have welcomed a ruling beneath the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying it discovered components of the United States’ calculation of softwood lumber duties are inconsistent with that nation’s personal regulation.
An announcement from Mary Ng, Canada’s minister of worldwide commerce, says the federal government is happy that the NAFTA dispute panel agreed with its problem of America’s so-called “dumping determination.”
Under the U.S. Tariff Act, the Department of Commerce determines whether or not items are being offered at lower than honest worth or in the event that they’re benefiting from subsidies offered from overseas governments.
Ng’s assertion says the duties on Canadian softwood lumber are “unwarranted” and “the only fair outcome” is for the U.S. authorities to revoke them instantly.
The assertion says the NAFTA panel directed the Department of Commerce to overview key elements of its dumping dedication.
B.C. Forests Minister Bruce Ralston issued an announcement saying it is “encouraging” to see the panel agree with the “extensive evidence” supporting Canada’s claims.
“Today, a NAFTA panel determined that the U.S. Department of Commerce erred in how it calculated important aspects of the anti-dumping duties applied to Canadian softwood lumber exports,” he says within the assertion launched Thursday.
“Time and again, neutral third-party reviews of the softwood lumber dispute have confirmed these duties are unjustified,” Ralston says.
The minister says U.S. duties are hurting folks on either side of the border, growing materials prices for Americans, and creating uncertainty for forestry professionals and communities in Canada.
Ng says Canada will “continue to advocate for Canadian softwood lumber workers and industry as we pursue other legal challenges of unjustifiable U.S. duties.”
The 60-page choice issued Thursday exhibits the NAFTA panel affirmed the U.S. Commerce Department’s choices in 5 areas, however despatched three again with a requirement for additional clarification.
Those areas embody Commerce’s differential pricing methodology, its remedy of export taxes beneath the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement between Canada and the United States, and its choice on startup changes for a mill in northern Ontario operated by a Montreal-based firm owned by Paper Excellence.
