Conservative leader Stephen Harper put his finger neatly on the problem yesterday when he talked about the "apparent irrelevancy of the trade dispute mechanism" within NAFTA.
Canada wins some point at the World Trade Organization; the U.S. ignores it. And so it goes on. Endlessly.
The new U.S. ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins, doesn't appear to grasp the depth of Canadian disaffection. While devoting the greater part of his speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade yesterday to lumber, he offered no new approach, merely repeating his call: "Let's negotiate."
We've been there, done that. Wilkins must understand it's no longer about softwood lumber per se; it's about fixing NAFTA. Canadians won't go on supporting a flawed agreement that works only when Washington wants it to.
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/news/editorial/story.html?id=a2820fd0-a641-41c0-b4f4-8add31f7b47e
[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on September 10, 2005]
Note: http://www.canada.com/v...
U.S. Is Missing Big Picture In Row Over Softwood Lumber
Posted on Friday, September 09 at 13:37 by jensonjContributed By
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Darren Olson
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"We shall be Canadians first, foremost, and always, and our policies will be decided in Canada and not dictated by any other country." - Diefe
It is time that Ottawa realised that nothing it can do will change the minds of those in Washington's Commerce Department. It is time Ottawa stopped whining and got on with governing the country.
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Canada, chew on your wood. The USA doesn't need it.<br />
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"...Chronic overproduction and a surge in Scandinavian imports created a buyer's market and buyers got in the habit of placing orders on an as-needed basis..."<br />
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<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/050909/b090962.html">http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/050909/b090962.html</a><br />
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Meanwhile, the USA will buy from friendlier suppliers.<br />
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The fact that as Canadian imports are restricted imports from Scandinavia (and Chile and Germany and New Zealand) all surge in spite of the longer distances and transport costs involved underscores the fact that Canada is charging a world price for its lumber.
Uhh buddy check your history books - NAFTA didn't exist before 1988. And, FYI, the WTO issue with bobardier had to do with Brazil's Embraier - another heavily government subsidized aerospace manufacturer. Now, if memory serves - Brazil isn't in the Lower 48 now is it? Duhhhhh......
The United States clearly has shown with NAfTA and other world trade bodies that it has no intentions of actually honouring any agreements. You know what happens to people who continuously make deals and then fall through on committments don't you? Yeah...that's right - they are out of business. But, I suppose the US of A can continue to trade with the "coalition of the willing"... Micronesia needs some Twinkies and cocoa puffs I think.