Friday, November 25, 2005
United States given a week to cut softwood lumber duties
Of course, this has nothing to do with stamping, but it does have to do with how Canada and the US resolve trade issues.
CBC News on Nov 16 wrote:
The U.S. government has been given one week to sharply cut the duties it has imposed on imports of Canadian softwood lumber, a NAFTA panel said Wednesday.
On Nov 22nd, United States says it will cut softwood lumber duties , but if you read further, they will maintain the duties during the public comment period, up to 45 days. Also, they won't give back any of the 4.3 billion dollars they've collected since 2002.
Shortly after the US said they wouldn't give back the 4.3, the canadian government said it would try to help out the industry by giving them 1.3 bilion. Now the US government is yelling "See, the industry really is subsidized".
From the Globe and Mail:
The offer was a $1.5-billion package of loan insurance for softwood companies that have been unable to reclaim duties from the United States despite successful international appeals.
Earlier this week, in response to a North American free-trade agreement panel ruling, the United States agreed to recalculate its anti-subsidy duty to 0.8 per cent from about 16 per cent but vowed to continue its legal fight and refused to return the $5-billion it has collected.
[the difference in the numbers reflects the fact that the Globe numbers were in Canadian $, and the other articles in US $ - 1 US$ is currently worth about $1.17 Canadian)
Let's see: 4.3 vs 1.3. The US government illegally took away 3x as much money as the Canadian government is now using to support the damaged industry. NAFTA and the WTO have ruled a total of 5 times that the US is in the wrong. The support payment announcement is 1/3 of the damage and came only after the US said they weren't giving the money back. But somehow the US still thinks they're right and Canada is wrong.
What am I missing here?
CBC News on Nov 16 wrote:
The U.S. government has been given one week to sharply cut the duties it has imposed on imports of Canadian softwood lumber, a NAFTA panel said Wednesday.
On Nov 22nd, United States says it will cut softwood lumber duties , but if you read further, they will maintain the duties during the public comment period, up to 45 days. Also, they won't give back any of the 4.3 billion dollars they've collected since 2002.
Shortly after the US said they wouldn't give back the 4.3, the canadian government said it would try to help out the industry by giving them 1.3 bilion. Now the US government is yelling "See, the industry really is subsidized".
From the Globe and Mail:
The offer was a $1.5-billion package of loan insurance for softwood companies that have been unable to reclaim duties from the United States despite successful international appeals.
Earlier this week, in response to a North American free-trade agreement panel ruling, the United States agreed to recalculate its anti-subsidy duty to 0.8 per cent from about 16 per cent but vowed to continue its legal fight and refused to return the $5-billion it has collected.
[the difference in the numbers reflects the fact that the Globe numbers were in Canadian $, and the other articles in US $ - 1 US$ is currently worth about $1.17 Canadian)
Let's see: 4.3 vs 1.3. The US government illegally took away 3x as much money as the Canadian government is now using to support the damaged industry. NAFTA and the WTO have ruled a total of 5 times that the US is in the wrong. The support payment announcement is 1/3 of the damage and came only after the US said they weren't giving the money back. But somehow the US still thinks they're right and Canada is wrong.
What am I missing here?
