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<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><span style="font-weight: bold">October 31, 2005 <i>(3:45 p.m. EST)</i><br>
No. 202</span></span></span></p>
<br>
<p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><span style="font-weight: bold">STATEMENT BY MINISTER PETERSON:<br>
CANADA TO STAY THE COURSE ON SOFTWOOD LUMBER</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><span> </span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">International Trade Minister Jim Peterson today issued the following statement after a
meeting with Canada’s legal team to take stock of Canada’s softwood lumber litigation
actions in the United States:</span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“Canada has been pursuing numerous legal challenges of the unjust U.S. duties on
Canadian softwood lumber under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
and before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the U.S. Court of International
Trade. I would like to thank our legal team for all its hard work since this round of the
dispute began in April 2001. I would also like to congratulate the team on all of its
litigation successes, in particular, Canada’s unanimous victory before the NAFTA
Extraordinary Challenge Committee (ECC) in August.</span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“During our meeting, I confirmed that Canada will—and must—stay the course on
litigation and pursue all appropriate options to ensure that NAFTA is respected and
duties are returned to Canadians. <span> </span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"> </span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“Canada’s central legal focus is the challenge before the U.S. Court of International
Trade (CIT), a challenge that is intended to force U.S. compliance with U.S. law and
with the NAFTA Extraordinary Challenge Committee outcome. </span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“We will vigorously defend Canadian interests in the challenge to the constitutionality of
NAFTA Chapter 19, launched by the U.S. Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports.</span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“With this in mind, we have retained a top-flight legal team to advance Canada’s case
at the CIT.</span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“Jean Anderson, our lead counsel, is a co-chair of Weil Gotshal’s Washington-based
trade group. Before entering into private practice, Ms. Anderson was Chief Counsel for
International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In that position, she was a
principal negotiator of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and a primary architect
of the NAFTA Chapter 19 dispute settlement system.</span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“Also engaged is Seth Waxman, who served as Solicitor General of the United States
from 1997 to 2001. He was lead counsel in our successful ECC litigation.</span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“Canada is continuing its NAFTA challenges to the original U.S. countervailing and
antidumping determinations, as well as its WTO challenges of the U.S. injury, subsidy
and dumping determinations. </span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“On October 28, instead of following the instructions of a NAFTA subsidy panel and
issuing a new countervailing duty determination, the U.S. Department of Commerce
(DOC) filed a motion with the panel requesting clarification on its October 5 remand
instructions. Canada strongly regrets this delay, but we are confident that the NAFTA
panel will act fairly and respond as soon as possible.</span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“The Canadian government is committed to pursuing all options—litigation, retaliation
and advocacy, as well as expanding markets elsewhere—in anticipation of any U.S.
action. </span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">As Prime Minister Paul Martin has said, “if we have to keep pressuring the Americans,
we will.”</span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“On August 10, 2005, the NAFTA ECC ruled that some $5 billion in duties must be
returned to Canadians. The United States has since refused to abide by this ruling,
citing a legal technicality.”<span> </span></span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Today, in Toronto, Minister Peterson is also meeting with leading members of Canada’s
business community to discuss the integrity of NAFTA and the concerns that U.S.
actions have raised. </span></span></p>
<br>
<p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">- 30 -</span></span></p>
<br>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">For further information, media representatives may contact:</span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Jacqueline LaRocque<br>
Director of Communications<br>
Office of the Minister of International Trade<br>
(613) 992-7332</span></span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Media Relations Office<br>
International Trade Canada<br>
(613) 995-1874<br>
</span></span><a href="https://bac-lac.wayback.archive-it.org/web/20070221004618/http://www.international.gc.ca/"><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><span style="color: #0000ff"><span style="text-decoration: underline">http://www.international.gc.ca</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><span style="color: #000000"></span></span></span></p>
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