U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab welcomed today’s announcement from the Government of Canada that the Canadian industry has expressed its support for the settlement agreement. "We thank Prime Minister Harper, Trade Minister Emerson, and Ambassador Wilson for their strong leadership in building support within Canada for the agreement," said Ambassador Schwab. "We have long been of the view that the only way to achieve a durable, long term solution to this dispute is through a negotiated settlement rather than litigation. Now that we have reached this milestone, we look forward to signing the agreement and bringing it into force as soon as possible."

Background:

On July 1, 2006, USTR Susan Schwab and Canadian Trade Minister David Emerson initialed the text of the softwood lumber accord. Under the terms of the agreement, the United States and Canada will end all litigation over trade in softwood lumber and provide for unrestricted trade in favorable market conditions. When the lumber market is soft, Canadian exporting provinces can choose either to collect an export tax that ranges from 5 to 15 percent as prices fall or to collect lower export taxes and limit their export volumes. The agreement will also include provisions to address potential Canadian import surges, provide for effective dispute settlement, distribute the antidumping and countervailing (anti-subsidy) duty deposits currently held by the United States, and discipline future trade cases.

Since July 1, the United States and Canada have undertaken a legal review of the text. In addition, the United States and Canada have been engaged in discussions regarding clarifications to the agreement.