U.S. "Slap" Infuriates Canada

Federal and provincial officials accused the United States of reneging on the 11-year-old North American free-trade agreement, with Ottawa renewing threats to slap billions of dollars of sanctions on American goods if Washington doesn't recant. One senior Canadian government official called the U.S. dismissal of the NAFTA ruling a "slap in the face." Another top-ranked federal official said Ottawa is prepared to retaliate if the United States repudiates NAFTA. "Those rules cannot be flouted and they cannot be ignored," the official said. "If [the United States] . . . can't see fit to recognize the rule of law, to honour the agreement that it, itself, established, and to work toward a deal that is fair to all, they should not expect this federal government to take that sitting down." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050812/PREMIERS12/TPNational/?query=us+tariffs+softwood+lumber [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on August 16, 2005]

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