HALIFAX, New Brunswick — Politicians and industry leaders reacted angrily Wednesday to indications the U.S. Commerce Department intends to hit softwood lumber from Atlantic Canada with a duty, despite the region’s previous exemption.
New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord condemned the plan to begin an investigation into the need for antidumping and countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber shipped into the United States.
The proposal, announced Wednesday in Washington, would impose hefty duties on eastern lumber, which has been exempted for years. “Atlantic Canada is not looking for a special deal,” Lord said in Fredericton. Lord, an outspoken critic of the American bid to impose duties, said the proposal could devastate the industry, which accounts for about 32,000 jobs in the province.
U.S. lumber producers have been petitioning their government to look into the matter, arguing the government fees for cutting are too low and constitute an unfair subsidy.
In Ottawa, International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew said he was hopeful he can secure the exemption for the Atlantic provinces as they have done for past 20 years.
