Canadian lumber industry lashes out at new U.S. tariff

November 1, 2001 1:11 PM

Canadian lumber industry lashes out at new U.S. tariff The Canadian lumber industry expressed its frustration and disapproval Wednesday at a U.S. announcement to impose an extra anti-dumping duty of 12.57 per cent on Canadian softwood lumber exports. Once again "free-trade" screws Canadians
posted by scotty (9 comments total)

Isn't this what the anti-globalization movement has been fighting for? The tax is applied ostensibly because the Canadian lumber industry is harvesting on public land. While this is obviously protectionism motivated by crass commercial self-interest, the net result will be a better environment (in Canada).

The ends justify the means.
posted by phatboy at 1:30 PM on November 1, 2001

Read this for some background information.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/background/softwood_lumber.html

This trade dispute has been going on for more than 20 years.

Every time the US imposes dutys and tarrifs the WTO has sided with Canada because the Americans have been wrong.

This process takes time. Since the US imposed a countervailing duty earlier this year thousands of jobs have been affected, billions of dollars lost, and companies have gone out of business.

No, the end does not justify the means.
posted by futureproof at 1:53 PM on November 1, 2001

I live in the Northwest, a county once called 'the timber capital of the world'; thirty years ago a log truck load would be three to five logs...now, a load is thirty to fifty
"logs". Quit being obsessed with trade and SAVE YOUR FORESTS before its too late.
posted by Mack Twain at 2:16 PM on November 1, 2001

Jimmy Carter wrote an editorial about this for the NY Times last year. He's owns timber land, like thousands of individuals do in the Deep South. Cheap Canadian imports threatened to make their millions of acres (which are not about to be threatened) worth millions less. Here's another article with Jimmy's side of the story.
posted by raysmj at 6:37 PM on November 1, 2001

Grrr.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:32 PM on November 1, 2001

Grrr what?
posted by raysmj at 12:07 AM on November 2, 2001

Sorry. Brain fart.

I was going to go into a long, ranting screed about American's tendency to blame the rest of the world for the problems that America itself frequently creates, yadda yadda. I edited it down to Grrr.

Not aimed at you, raysmj.

My hometown, in the far North of British Columbia is primarily (well, entirely) a lumber town, for better or worse (more worse), and many people have been hurt badly by all of this.

Of course I haven't lived there in years and years, and I loathe the logging industry on principle (my god you have to see the vast, lunarlandscape clear-cuts all over BC to realize what a good job of 'stewardship' the logging companies are doing), but still, it rankles.

Mack's right. Save the forests, before it's too goddamned late.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:47 AM on November 2, 2001

obviously protectionism motivated by crass commercial self-interest

but even more:

Since the US imposed a countervailing duty earlier this year thousands of jobs have been affected, billions of dollars lost, and companies have gone out of business.

No, the end does not justify the means.

Damn straight. How high is the American gov't going to force prices for the dubious goal of "saving forests"?
posted by phartizan at 5:57 AM on November 2, 2001

Chretien taunts U.S: let them burn wood
posted by todd at 7:40 PM on November 7, 2001