Canada Claims Victory In Lumber Dispute With US

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

30 May 2003

The Canadian authorities have claimed victory in a long running lumber tariff dispute with the United States following a WTO (World Trade Organisation) ruling this week.

The United States has placed an 18.79 per cent tariff on timber imported from Canada in retaliation for what it claims is an unfair government subsidy enjoyed by Canadian timber merchants who are allowed to buy timber from government owned lands.

In a recent statement, Canadian International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew said the ruling refuted the suggestion that Canadian lumber was being subsidized by the provincial governments and said: "Yet again, it appears that the US is being told that its attempts to prove that our softwood industry is subsidized are flawed." The minister stressed however, that Canada was still willing to negotiate in order to settle the dispute.

According to reports, officials from the United States meanwhile, are claiming that the WTO ruling, which is non-binding, does not dismiss their claim that Canadian lumber is being subsidised and merely states that the US has incorrectly calculated its tariff.

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