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SNOWE: TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT SHOULD BE MET
Letter to USTR Susan Schwab requests terms of September Softwood Lumber settlement between the U.S. and Canada are applied retroactively
October 10, 2006
WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) today joined 10 of her colleagues requesting United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab take the necessary steps to apply the terms of a softwood lumber trade settlement between the United States and Canada retroactively to October 1, 2006. The terms of the settlement signed September 12, were originally scheduled to begin on October 1st but have been delayed following requests from Canadian lumber producers seeking more time to comply with the agreement’s requirement that private lawsuits filed against the United States be dropped. The United States and Canada settlement calls for the replacement of U.S. corrective duties totaling 10.8% with a Canadian export tax of approximately 15%.
“The efforts by the Canadian lumber industry to delay the application of the settlement agreed to by both the Canadian and U.S. government should not be allowed or rewarded,” Senator Snowe said. “Each day the terms of the deal are delayed, is an another day the Canadian softwood lumber is allowed into the United States at artificially reduced prices putting thousands of Maine jobs at risk.”
The following letter was authored by Senator Craig (R- Idaho) and signed by Senators Snowe (R-Maine), Cochran (R-Mississippi), Collins (R-Maine), Enzi (R-Wyoming), Lott (R-Mississippi), Shelby (R-Alabama), Smith (R-Oregon), Crapo (R-Idaho), Chambliss (R-Georgia), and Burns (R-Montana) and sent to Ambassador Susan Schwab today, October 6th:
Dear Ambassador Schwab:
We commend your work with the Canadian government to reach an agreement regarding Canadian softwood lumber imported into the United States. This agreement is the capstone of many years of hard negotiations, and we believe that your leadership was a critical factor in the agreement.
We understand that the original deadline of October 1, 2006 was extended because of pressure by Canadian industries to provide them the necessary time to comply with the new regulations. While we still fully support the agreement, it was our hope that the original deadline for the Canadian government to begin to collect taxes would be met. We feel those in Canada who do not want the agreement are finding ways to delay implementation.
With each day that passes, the U.S. market is flooded with Canadian lumber. As a result, U.S. mill owners are facing the difficult decision to remain open or not. For some, the decision will be temporary, for others it will be permanent. As you can imagine, we have heard from a number of mill operators expressing great concern that the Canadian lumber industry is unfairly exporting their products in an effort to get around the impending tax implementation set for November 1.
Immediate action is needed to address this unexpected crisis. For starters, the agreement must be implemented as quickly as possible, including termination of all pending court cases. Moreover, to discourage the continued surge of Canadian imports, the border tax measures contemplated by the agreement should be applied retroactively to October 1.
We appreciate your continued attention to this matter. The Canadian lumber settlement agreement provides a great opportunity to solve the types of unfair trade problems that have long afflicted U.S. sawmills and workers. We encourage you to aggressively pursue any opportunity to ensure the agreement is fully and expeditiously implemented.
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