On 24 April, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) stipulated provisional countervailing duty (CVD) of 19.88% on the invoice value of Canadian deliveries of softwood lumber and wood products to the USA. The DOC is also likely to announce antidumping duty (AD) on Canadian deliveries of softwood lumber to the USA on 23 June.
The imposition of the CVD triggers another trade dispute between Canada and the USA after the last Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) between the two countries signed in 2006 had expired one and a half years ago. In an initial statement, Jim Carr, Canada’s minister of natural resources, and the Canadian minister of trade, Chrystia Freeland, have sharply criticised the DOC’s decision, describing the allegations as unfounded and unjustified and announcing, too, in the joint statement, legal action against the USA’s decision. The provincial governments of Ontario and Quebec have asked the Canadian government for assistance for the companies affected by the dispute, suggesting such measures as the creation of a loan-guarantee scheme for safeguarding the jobs.