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December 20, 2007

Canada accused of breaking trade pact

Maine lumber producers are accusing Canada of violating last year's trade agreement covering softwood lumber, which was supposed to prevent Canadian sawmills with healthy subsidies from flooding the U.S. market with underpriced lumber.

The Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports, based in Washington, D.C., says the low prices Canadian sawmills can offer for their softwood lumber ˆ– mostly pine, spruce and fir -- are forcing Maine sawmills to drastically reduce their prices, according to the Bangor Daily News. The coalition claims Canada is shipping too much lumber from western Canada and that the provinces of Quebec and Ontario are giving too many subsidies to its sawmills, allowing them to undercut American producers, according to the newspaper.

The U.S. Department of Justice presented on Dec. 12 the lumber industry's complaints to an international mediation panel, the paper said. The panel is expected to make a ruling by February.

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