:: rawblogXport ::

:: Saturday, April 29, 2006 ::

American Consumers Shocked Over Canadian Softwood Lumber Settlement; Hope Rushed Deal Will Fall Through as Final Details are Negotiated ACAH, PR Newswire
Being creative, and to circumvent the illegal Byrd Amendment which would not be able to be applied to Canadian lumber anyway, this deal would create a special 'fund' to give a half billion dollars of U.S. homebuyer money to reward a small group of lumber companies who lost their cases in NAFTA, specifically mostly southern timberland owners, and forestry companies including International Paper, Potlach, Plum Creek, Sierra Pacific, and Temple Inland, members of the Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports. This sets a very bad precedent.

U.S. lumber producers may use softwood deal money to sue Canada - CBC News, Canada
That law allows rival U.S. companies to profit from penalties on Canadian imports like softwood lumber. It was repealed by Congress but not until Oct. 1, 2007.

Canada's opposition parties are angry that Americans got to keep any of the $5 billion US in punitive duties collected from Canadian lumber exporters since 2002. They say Prime Minister Stephen Harper has reneged on a key election promise to press for the return of all the money.

posted 7:00 AM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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