(Ottawa) Trudeau government raises the possibility of imposing retaliatory measures against American interests to make Joe Biden’s administration listen to reason in the wake of the United States Department of Commerce’s decision to double countervailing duties on Canadian lumber.
Less than a week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to Washington to participate in the Three Amigos summit, the US Commerce Department announced Wednesday evening that the countervailing duties levied on Canadian lumber would drop from an average of 8.99% to 17.9% over the next few days.
All of Canada’s lumber exporters are hit hard, but the blow is particularly hard for Resolute Forest Products, headquartered in Montreal. This company is assessed a combined tax of 29.66%.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told the House of Commons on Thursday that Canada had no hesitation last year in imposing retaliatory measures totaling $ 3.6 billion against U.S. products to roll back the Trump administration when it hit Canadian aluminum exports with 10% tariffs.
Mme Freeland, who has successfully led the negotiations to modernize the free trade agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico, argued that such a trade response may be necessary to force Washington’s hand in the lumber dispute that has persisted since 2016.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, ARCHIVES THE CANADIAN PRESS
Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Finance
“We are going to do what we have always done successfully in the past with two previous administrations. We will make our case clearly and rationally. We will also make it clear that Canada is fully prepared to impose retaliatory measures to defend our national interests. We have done this in the past. And we will do it again if necessary, ”said M.me Freeland, who is also Deputy Prime Minister.
Mme Freeland did not give further details as to what action Ottawa might take. She nevertheless pointed out that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the dispute during the one-on-one he had with President Biden last week. Other ministers from the Liberal government who accompanied the Prime Minister to Washington also raised it with their American counterparts.
“This file is a top priority for our government. That is why we took this matter to court. The WTO and a NAFTA panel have already proved us right in the past. We will continue to defend workers and the forest industry, ”for her part, insisted the Minister of International Trade, Mary Ng.
Opposition attacks Liberals
The Conservative Party devoted most of the question period to this file on Thursday. According to Chief Erin O’Toole, this new twist in the softwood lumber dispute shows that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has little influence with President Joe Biden.
“Last week the Prime Minister visited Washington. [Mercredi] At night, Canadians were hit by new softwood lumber tariffs. The price of all commodities is skyrocketing. And today, more Canadians are seeing their jobs threatened, from Saguenay to British Columbia to New Brunswick. President Biden has said the relationship with Canada is the easiest. When will the Prime Minister stop being a wimp? », Launched Mr. O’Toole in the Commons.
The Bloc Québécois also suggested that the problem in this dispute was not Washington’s attitude, but the Prime Minister’s weak power of persuasion.
“What is happening in the United States is very worrying. Ottawa should end softwood lumber tariffs; Washington responds by overtaking them. Ottawa should campaign for exemptions from protectionism for electric transportation; Washington responds by adding a new layer of protectionism, ”argued the Bloc member for Jonquière, Mario Simard.
“In one week, our main economic partner behaved twice as an adversary. We used to say it was Trump’s fault. The problem is, today we are with Biden. Whose fault is it? I wonder if the problem is not the Liberal government, ”he added.