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On October 12, 2006, Canada and the United States implemented the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement. This agreement ends the costly litigation, secures the return to Canadian
companies of the bulk of the duties paid to date, and provides some
certainty for softwood lumber trade in the future. Given the length, cost and uncertainty of the softwood lumber litigation, British Columbia has been
open to a negotiated solution since 2001. On April 27, 2006, Canada and the
United States agreed to a terms sheet that laid out the elements for an
agreement. On July 1, 2006, a final legal text was initialled by the
Honourable David Emerson, the federal Minister of International Trade, and
Ambassador Susan Schwab, United States Trade Representative.
After further discussions,
some key outstanding issues were addressed in ‘side letters’ to the
Agreement. On August 22, 2006, the federal government reported that a
majority of Canadian companies support the agreement. The agreement was
signed, and came into effect on October 12, 2006. On December 14,
2006, the Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge Act, 2006 received
Royal Assent in Parliament.
The Links below give
further information and updates on various topics related to the 2006
Softwood Lumber Agreement.
Please also check the
federal government website at:
www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/eicb/softwood/ for updates and announcements.
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