Canada to Seek $3.3 Billion in U.S. Softwood Dutie
Ottawa, ON, February 11--Canada will ask the World Trade Organization to order the United States to refund $3.3 billion in countervailing and anti-dumping duties levied on Canadian softwood lumber, Trade Minister Jim Peterson said this week.
U.S. assertions that Canadian softwood shipments injure its lumber industry were not proven at the Geneva-based WTO, so Ottawa plans to ask the trade regulating agency on Monday to set up a panel to approve its request for a full refund, Peterson said.
The United States has maintained countervailing and anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood for nearly four years, resulting in a mountain of litigation between the two countries over billions of dollars of wood, such as pine and spruce, used to build and remodel houses.
Canada's softwood shipments to the United States are worth about $6 billion annually, supplying about one-third of the U.S. market. The United States collects about C$100 million in duties each month.
