Export Tax Not Discussed In US, Canada Lumber Peace Talks

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, New York

08 October 2001

Amid the hotly debated lumber tax debacle between Canada and the US, co-chairman of the British Columbia Lumber Trade Council has dispelled rumours that the two countries are negotiating an export tax on Canadian lumber to resolve their dispute. David Emerson told the Canadian media: 'There has been no discussion I am aware of, of an export tax. The discussion continues to be entirely around government policies to get a better clarification for our friends in the US.'

Canadian and US representatives from the lumber industry met in Washington last week to discuss ways of ending the trade war through some sort of compromise. Some Canadians have called upon their government to introduce an export tax on softwood to help them retrieve the money they have lost on the recently implemented US import provisional anti-dumping duty of 19.3 per cent that began the dispute.

'We think there is a sense around Washington that this is an issue whose time has come,' said Emerson. 'We think there could be the potential to do something constructive in the next few weeks. But on the other hand, with a preliminary anti-dumping due to come down anytime in the next couple of weeks, it could get uglier and messier before it gets better. I wouldn't want to say we're anywhere near out of the woods, but I think the process is continuing to move forward.'

He added: 'There's no deal in sight, but I do believe that we are moving forward in such a way that if there is to be a deal constructed in the next few weeks or months, we're on the right path.'

Recommended