Canada will consider litigation say ministers
It was not the news that Canada’s softwood lumber industry needed, the US Commerce Department announced that most Canadian exporters would pay a tariff at just under 21%.
Although the rate is lower than the 26.75% rate of the preliminary determinations earlier this year, it is a painful blow to sawmills and could force closures or an impact on working hours.
"We know there's going to be some sort of impact, whether it's mill closures or reduction of shifts. Anything that hurts the bottom line for a sawmill is not good," Mike Legere, executive director of the industry group Forest NB told the CBC.
Canada’s foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland and natural resources minister Jim Carr issued a joint statement calling the US decision “unfair, unwarranted and deeply troubling.”
They urged the US government to change their decision which they said would harm Canadian workers and communities but also add costs to American families whose home repairs will be impacted.
The government says it will take whatever action is necessary to protect Canadian industry from protectionist policies.
“We are reviewing our options, including legal action through the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization, and we will not delay in taking action,” the ministers’ joint statement said.
The US Commerce Department said that it believed the tariffs were fair as Canadian firms had benefitted from subsidies and reiterated that it is committed to “free, fair and reciprocal trade” with Canada.
The final decision will be made next month but the failure to reach a mutually acceptable deal will increase concern over the future of free trade with the US especially as NAFTA negotiations continue.
Although the rate is lower than the 26.75% rate of the preliminary determinations earlier this year, it is a painful blow to sawmills and could force closures or an impact on working hours.
"We know there's going to be some sort of impact, whether it's mill closures or reduction of shifts. Anything that hurts the bottom line for a sawmill is not good," Mike Legere, executive director of the industry group Forest NB told the CBC.
Canada’s foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland and natural resources minister Jim Carr issued a joint statement calling the US decision “unfair, unwarranted and deeply troubling.”
They urged the US government to change their decision which they said would harm Canadian workers and communities but also add costs to American families whose home repairs will be impacted.
The government says it will take whatever action is necessary to protect Canadian industry from protectionist policies.
“We are reviewing our options, including legal action through the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization, and we will not delay in taking action,” the ministers’ joint statement said.
The US Commerce Department said that it believed the tariffs were fair as Canadian firms had benefitted from subsidies and reiterated that it is committed to “free, fair and reciprocal trade” with Canada.
The final decision will be made next month but the failure to reach a mutually acceptable deal will increase concern over the future of free trade with the US especially as NAFTA negotiations continue.
