(Ottawa) The old softwood lumber dispute is not getting better, and Canada is showing signs of impatience. A few days after the United States doubled tariffs, International Trade Minister Mary Ng returned to Washington, this time with a “Canada team” to try to make lawmakers listen to reason.
This issue will certainly be “a priority” in the talks that will take place Wednesday and Thursday in the American capital, but it is not the only one – it will also be a question of the tax credit that the Biden administration wishes to offer to green vehicles. assembled south of the border, we told the minister’s office on Tuesday.
She will notably meet with Congress leaders, whose names have not been specified. This is the second time in less than two weeks that American lawmakers have been questioned by Canadian politicians on issues surrounding the protectionist measures that Joe Biden is putting in place, or wants to implement.
Members of the three parties recognized in the Commons will accompany Minister Ng to Washington: Randy Hoback (Conservative Party), Sébastien Lemire (Bloc Québécois) and Daniel Blaikie (NDP). Meanwhile, in the House of Commons, there is a take note debate on the dispute, at the request of the Bloc.
But already, the table is set.
Because both the Conservatives and the Bloc pounded the Liberals during question period in the House on Tuesday afternoon. They have been criticized for having allowed this quarrel which has been going on since 2015 to rot. Countervailing duties, which were 8.99% on average at that time, jumped to 17.9% on November 24.
A week, therefore, after the tête-à-tête between Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden in Washington.
“I have a simple question for the Prime Minister: what did they talk about? Asked the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet.
His interlocutor replied that he had underlined “once again that imposing unfair tariffs on softwood lumber does not work for Canadians or for American consumers” and that the government will “continue to be present and fight for the interests of our forest industry ”.
” It’s time to act ”
Minister Ng has not been spared by the Conservatives. They questioned the threat of retaliation launched last week by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
” The minister [Ng] can she please inform the House if she intends to notify the Americans that they intend to sue under chapter 10? [du nouvel accord de libre-échange] regarding tariffs or whether they intend to advise on other retaliatory measures and what are they? It’s been six years. It’s time to act, ”said MP Michelle Rempel Garner impatiently.
This new protectionist salvo from the United States on the softwood lumber file comes on top of the others that find themselves under the umbrella of the “Buy American” policy dear to Joe Biden. It came less than a week after the conclusion of the “Three Amigos” summit, which was the first to be held since 2016.
That year, when Justin Trudeau hosted US Presidents Barack Obama and Mexican Presidents Enrique Pena Nieto in Ottawa, the softwood lumber issue was on the agenda.
Several voices have recently been raised to demand that the Liberals work to change the positions of the Democratic administration by deploying a plan of attack such as the one implemented in the context of the renegotiation of the Free Agreement. -North American trade (NAFTA).
The government then brought together actors from the business community, union leaders and former politicians of all stripes to carry out the project.