Canada has just won another round in the softwood lumber dispute. I've lost track of how many times we've won this...how many NAFTA decisions the US has illegally ignored while levying millions in illegal tariffs.
This should be the final attack from the US on softwood. We've won every battle. The illegitimate claims of the United States have caused trade panels to laugh openly at them. They are clearly in the wrong, trying to protect political supporters who produce an inferior product at an inflated price.
It won't be the end of though. It never is, not with these guys. They can take one more measure, considered extraordinary by every trade analyst on the planet. The US will launch a constitutional challenge next.
They will lose again. They have no case. In the meantime it will cost millions more for lawyers and researchers. Millions more will be levied in illegal duties. Those duties will be illegally given to lumber companies in the US.
The funniest thing about all of this? The shenanigans and illegal tariffs are costing Americans millions too. Because of the political power of the lumber lobby, they get to pay more money for lumber produced in the US. That lumber is of a lower quality than Canadian lumber. It comes from a lesser species of tree, it has grown too fast, and it is hateful garbage to work with. It is twisted and checked and prone to splitting. For that the US consumer gets to pay extra.
This should be the final attack from the US on softwood. We've won every battle. The illegitimate claims of the United States have caused trade panels to laugh openly at them. They are clearly in the wrong, trying to protect political supporters who produce an inferior product at an inflated price.
It won't be the end of though. It never is, not with these guys. They can take one more measure, considered extraordinary by every trade analyst on the planet. The US will launch a constitutional challenge next.
They will lose again. They have no case. In the meantime it will cost millions more for lawyers and researchers. Millions more will be levied in illegal duties. Those duties will be illegally given to lumber companies in the US.
The funniest thing about all of this? The shenanigans and illegal tariffs are costing Americans millions too. Because of the political power of the lumber lobby, they get to pay more money for lumber produced in the US. That lumber is of a lower quality than Canadian lumber. It comes from a lesser species of tree, it has grown too fast, and it is hateful garbage to work with. It is twisted and checked and prone to splitting. For that the US consumer gets to pay extra.
