The big holdup in a Canada-U.S. lumber deal? Russian, German, Brazilian wood
WASHINGTON — Canada and the United States must chop down one big, remaining impediment to a deal on softwood lumber and this obstacle involves wood from neither country but from other places: Germany, Sweden, Chile, Brazil and Russia.
This irritant over distant imports is complicating the goal of a quick softwood agreement, something both North American governments say they want to achieve in order to start NAFTA talks in two weeks without a major trade irritant looming overhead.
This sticking point involves third-country imports. More specifically, it’s about who gets to fill the U.S. demand for lumber in the event of a hot construction market like the present one, when American supply falls short.
The two governments have already agreed to split the U.S. lumber market by percentage. According to Canada’s ambassador to Washington, Americans would supply around 70 per cent; Canadian imports would be capped around 30 per cent, which falls somewhere in the historical average.