Softwood Lumber Dispute - A Hollow Victory for Canada

It seems that in every stage in the softwood lumber dispute both the Americans and Canadians have been claiming victory. The most recent NAFTA panel decision on the softwood lumber dispute is no exception, as both sides claimed victory yesterday.

The Toronto-based Globe and Mail on the recent ruling had a very apt title: A hollow lumber victory for Canada. The Globe reports that the manner in which Canadian sets stumpage fees does constitute a subsidy, but the level of countervailing duties set by the United States need to be recalculated. Nobody seems quite sure what the new level of countervailing duty will be, but it is possible that the current 18.79 percent duty could be reduced all the way to 2 or 3 percent. The Canadian government claimed victory in the softwood lumber dispute as the duty must be recalculated, while the American side claimed victory as it was found that the Canadians were unfairly subsidizing softwood lumber production. Like the softwood lumber industry, I'm hoping this issue is settled soon so we never have to hear about it again.

Important Links

• To learn more about the softwood lumber dispute see: "The Softwood Lumber Dispute"
• To learn more about lobby groups see: "The Logic of Collective Action"