The Prime Minister stressed that the Government of Canada will vigorously defend the interests of the Canadian softwood lumber industry, as we have successfully done in all past lumber disputes with the U.S. The two leaders agreed on the importance of reaching a negotiated agreement, recognizing the integrated nature of the industry between Canada and the United States.
The duties were imposed to create a level playing field for American lumber companies.
Ross said the Trump administration might intercede to aid Toshiba Corp's USA unit Westinghouse Electric Co, which filed for bankruptcy last month.
Some members of the Canadian government suspect this is all a negotiating ploy in the runup to NAFTA talks. Canadian firms have also purchased at least 50 American timber mills in the last 12 years.
A Dairy Farmers of America spokeswoman did not immediately respond to multiple messages confirming the number of offers made or accepted, or the terms of the offers.
The sentiment was echoed by a former diplomat who leads a Canadian-American business group.
"The government of Canada disagrees strongly with the U.S. Department of Commerce's decision to impose an unfair and punitive duty", Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, and Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said in a joint statement.
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The tax is expected to hike the price of lumber used in home building by an average of 6%, according to the National Association of Home Builders, the trade group for the USA industry. The dispute goes back to the 1980s.
US lumber representatives disagreed.
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An amendment revealed last week is meant to be a compromise for the most conservative members to agree to support the bill. The savings would fund tax cuts for wealthy Americans and corporations.
The premier says the dispute is similar to country-of-origin labelling which the US tried to impose on meat, an issue which nearly started a trade war and caused global court fights.
US firms declared victory Monday night.
"The (Canadian) provinces subsidise the cutting down of lumber - the technical term being stumpage - and then that lets them charge a subsidised low price when the product hits the United States border". The Canadian officials called the subsidy allegations "baseless and unfounded".
"When this has happened in the past, Americans lose trade ruling after trade ruling", Wall said.
Wall noted the USA has a trade surplus, when it comes to dealing with Canada.
The past dispute started in 2001 with U.S. penalties of 27.22% for countervailing duties, and anti-dumping duties ranging from two to 16% for different companies.
The US Commerce Department said it will conduct a thorough investigation and confirm its position on the lumber tariffs by September 27.
The Canadian milk tariffs were grandfathered into NAFTA, one of the few areas of trade where major tariffs still exist.
She was referring to the U.S. Department of Commerce announcement on Monday verifying that Canada subsidizes softwood lumber production, which the U.S. Lumber Coalition said distorts the U.S. softwood lumber market to the detriment of sawmills, their employees and communities.
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