Canada publicly has announced that it will appeal the U.S. Department of Commerce's final results of the fourth annual review of the antidumping orders against unfairly traded lumber imports from Canada at the U.S. Court of International Trade. The Coalition views this as a welcome change in Canada's approach to the trade case, since it traditionally insists on requesting a United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) panel for their appeals.
"The Coalition has long believed that U.S. courts are the appropriate venue for resolving legal questions around the application of U.S. trade laws, and we are pleased that the Canadian parties have now agreed to pursue their claims before a U.S. judge," said Andrew Miller, Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition and CEO of Stimson Lumber.
"While the Coalition is continuing to evaluate its own issues for appeal, we look forward to defending the Department of Commerce's antidumping determination as consistent with U.S. law," added Miller.
The U.S. lumber industry established its right to the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties in the face of unfair competition from Canada in 2017, and the industry continues to vigorously defend the existence and enforcement of those duties in all appropriate fora.
The U.S. industry remains open to a new U.S.- Canada softwood lumber trade agreement if and when Canada can demonstrate that it is serious about negotiations for an agreement that addresses Canada's unfair trade practices which are harming U.S. producers, workers, and timberland holders. Until this happens, the U.S. Lumber Coalition fully supports the continued strong enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to address Canada's unfair softwood lumber trade practices.
The U.S. Lumber Coalition is an alliance of large and small softwood lumber producers from around the country, joined by their employees, and woodland owners, working to address Canada's unfair lumber trade practices.
