CIIT Committee Report

Supplementary Opinion

New Democratic Party of Canada

The New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) is pleased that the Standing Committee on International Trade (Committee) undertook a study of the Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) between Canada and the United States.

Canada and the U.S. have a long history of trade disputes over softwood lumber. Before the 2006 SLA, the U.S. was applying massive countervailing duties (CD) and anti-dumping duties (AD) which caused significant job losses in Canada. Canada had won a series of tribunal warnings under CAFTA, NAFTA, and the WTO which found that U.S. tariffs were unjustified.

Many questioned the need for a negotiated agreement given that these tribunals consistently found Canada was not unfairly subsidizing its producers. The 2006 SLA, which was renewed in 2012, hurt Canadian exports and did not adequately address the significant regional differences in the Canadian forestry sector. It took $50 million from Canadian industry to create a system under which the U.S. was able to bring actions against Canada as part of the billion dollars given away under the deal.

The Committee heard from witnesses who acknowledged that while technically an SLA should not be needed, the absence of an agreement would hurt Canadian exporters and expose them to even more costly litigation. Witnesses also said that any new SLA must be flexible and provide options to regions regarding export duties or volume constraints.

Witnesses testified that it is important that changes in forestry management practices are taken into account during the negotiations and throughout the life of the agreement. We heard that a new agreement should include exemptions for provinces with market-based regimes and stronger provisions to review changes in stumpage systems or other practices during the life of the deal.

The NDP is concerned by reports that talks between Canadian and U.S. negotiators have stalled and that our forest sector may face a new round of unfair trade measures with impacts on Canadian companies and workers.

The NDP urges the government to secure a deal that respects the significant regional differences in Canada’s forestry sector and that protects Canadian jobs. We also urge the federal government to put forward a broader vision for supporting Canada’s forestry sector, which provides tens of thousands of good jobs and has high growth potential.