| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Contact: Beth Day |
| March 28, 2001 | (202)224-6404 |
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) joined several other Senators today at a meeting to discuss with Secretary of Commerce, Don Evans, the importance of the Canadian Softwood Lumber Agreement to the U.S. softwood lumber industry in Mississippi and other states.
Cochran said, "Mississippi lumber producers are experiencing tough times due to high fuel prices and plummeting lumber prices. It is important that the Commerce Department act quickly to keep additional Mississippi lumber mills from closing." The purpose of the meeting was to encourage the Commerce Department to take action under existing trade laws so that the softwood lumber industry can receive relief. The softwood lumber industry will file two trade cases on April 2nd, the first business day after the Canadian agreement expires on Saturday, March 31st. The first is an antidumping case alleging imports are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value, and the second is a countervailing duty case alleging that subsidized imports are having an injurious effect on the domestic softwood industry. The industry is concerned that Canadian imports will surge immediately after these cases are filed. The most important issue to the lumber producers in Mississippi is the timeliness of the decision that the Commerce Department must make with regard to determining the level of Canadian government subsidies. "It is clear that the industry has been injured. I am hopeful that the Commerce Department will act under existing trade laws to prohibit subsidized Canadian imports from being sold in the U.S. at less than fair market prices," Cochran said.
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