The US-based Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports has marked the first anniversary of the latest US-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement by accusing Canada of extensive violations to the accord.
The coalition, which represents major US lumber producers, said Canadian government data indicated that at least US$123m of required taxes under the agreement had been under-collected by Canada.
It claimed that producers in Ontario and Québec had over-shipped their quotas to the US by hundreds of millions of board feet.
The coalition said this had “severely harmed” the US lumber industry, with significant layoffs, wage reductions and mills running at curtailed production levels or even going out of business.
“It is extremely disappointing that the list of Canadian violations is extensive only a year after the two trading partners entered into this 7-9 year accord,” said Steve Swanson, coalition chairman. “This pattern of non-compliance with critical parts of the agreement must stop.”
However, the coalition continues to believe that the agreement represents the best alternative to resumption of countervailing and anti-dumping duties on Canadian wood imports by the US.
