Second U.S. duty rocks forestry
Copyright 2001 The Province
September 21, 2001
By Paul Luke
More B.C. forestry workers will be thrown out of work when the U.S. smashes Canada's forest sector with another wave of tariffs, industry leaders warn. B.C. forest companies are bracing for more mill shutdowns when the U.S. unleashes anti-dumping duties next month, industry executives said yesterday. Interfor president Duncan Davies said he expects the U.S. to pile anti-dumping duties on top of the 19.3-per-cent countervailing duty already slapped on Canadian softwood imports. "We've already got most of the coastal industry shut down in B.C. today," Canfor Corp. president David Emerson said. "An anti-dumping duty . . . will be the straw that will break many backs in the sawmilling industry in B.C. and, I expect, Canada. It's not a very pleasant sight looking out six months." The U.S. is scheduled to make an anti-dumping ruling Oct. 15 but there's speculation it may be delayed to the end of the month. Specific dumping duties would be applied to six corporate respondents singled out by the U.S., with the rest of the sector absorbing an average of those duties. In other words, some Canadian companies will gain a competitive advantage, Davies said. Added to the industry's trade woes is the fact the U.S. economy was weakening even before last week's World Trade Center attack, Lignum boss Jake Kerr said. Kerr, Emerson and Davies, who co-chair the B.C. Lumber Trade Council, made their comments during a telephone briefing on the progress of three days of exploratory trade talks between U.S. and Canadian government officials in Toronto. The three called the talks a constructive information session. On B.C.'s coast, a mixture of countervailing duties, weak Japanese markets and high operating costs have idled 9,700 out of 20,000 direct logging and sawmilling jobs. In the short term, a worsening U.S. economy may make it easier to resolve the softwood issue, council president John Allan said. But Allan expressed concern about protectionist sentiment developing in the U.S. over the longer term if war breaks out. The U.S. Commerce Department reported yesterday that U.S. housing construction plunged by 6.9 per cent in August -- its largest drop in 17 months.