Softwood agreement: an open door for continued U.S. trade practice violations
The so-called softwood lumber agreement recently arrived at (Basic Terms of a Canada-United States Agreement on Softwood Lumber) was hailed by the Prime Minister:
Canada’s bargaining position was strong; our conditions were clear; and this agreement delivers. It’s a good deal that resolves this long-standing dispute and allows us to move on. Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Yet common sense says that accepting an agreement which is the antithesis of ‘free trade’ provides the United States with a dangerous trade precedent, one which history suggests they will not fail to exploit.
I ask again ”what happened to the David Emerson who said just before the last election:”
People think that just because softwood lumber is a relatively small percentage of NAFTA trade, that somehow we should ignore this, but you can’t. The reality is, NAFTA covers many many sectors, and if NAFTA‘s decisions and the dispute resolution mechanism is not respected in lumber, it won?t be respected in other sectors. David Emerson, October 2005
Emerson’s acceptance of the latest deal is a big flip-flop, second of course only to his overnight post-election conversion from Liberal to Conservative.
Voices against the latest deal continue to speak out:
May 12 (Bogdan Kipling, Chronicle Herald) U.S., Canada declare ceasefire, not end to softwood lumber wars
The decades-long American tariff war on Canadian lumber is not over, the purring and glad-handing in Washington and Ottawa notwithstanding. There is no peace treaty.
The [U.S.] Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports and its friends in Congress will be back for more Canadian hide. They will start complaining around 2011, just in time to tell presidential candidates in 2012 whatâs coming down the chute.
They will invent new Canadian subsidies. They will charge Canada with dumping â selling below cost. They will whine about injury to their industry. They will point to American jobs lost or threatened by unfair competition from Canada. They have trotted these charges out before and theyâll trot them out again.
Thatâs the future.
The article makes reference to an address made last November by Elliot J. Feldman, a well known U.S. trade lawyer who sides with Canada on this issue and trade matters in general. Regardless of one’s views on NAFTA, its worth reading the full text of his address to the World President’s Organization (PDF)
May 11 (Steve Mertl, CP) Lumber executive confident of softwood deal despite negative legal report
In his report, [Washington trade lawyer Elliot] Feldman warns among other things that the framework accepted in late April undercuts NAFTA and gives back Canada’s victories over five years of trade litigation – wins that would have been permanently entrenched and would have given companies back all illegally collected lumber duties.
It also raises the spectre of American interference in Canadian forestry policies while allowing the United States to continue with trade practices that violate NAFTA and WTO rules.
Well no wonder Tembec CEO James Lopez is so optimistic. [sarcasm off]