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Softwood Lumber Dispute: A TimelineOn January 6, 2003 the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a framework document on the ongoing softwood lumber dispute, which demands extensive concessions from the Canadian government. If these concessions are not accepted, the U.S. has threatened to increase duties on Canadian softwood lumber to 40 percent (see Modern Communism Volume 4, Number 5, dated February 10, 2003). Below we are outlining the genesis of the current dispute.

April 2, 2001: The executive committee of the U.S. Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports files countervailing duties (CVD) and anti-dumping (AD) petitions against Canadian softwood lumber imports.

May 16, 2001: The U.S. International Trade Commission makes a preliminary determination that the alleged subsidies pose a threat of injury to the U.S. industry.

August 10, 2001: The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) issues its preliminary determination of the subsidy in its CVD investigation of softwood lumber from Canada - 19.31%.

Oct. 31, 2001: The DOC announces its decision to impose an anti-dumping duty of 12.58% on Canadian softwood lumber imports.

March 21, 2002: Talks that began in the fall of 2001 between the U.S. and Canadian governments break off. The two countries can't reach agreement on the rate of the proposed transitional export tax and issues related to provincial forest policy changes. In addition, the U.S. refuses to accept Canada's proposal for binding dispute resolution by an independent third party.

March 22, 2002: The DOC announces that of a total of 351 Canadian-based companies applying for exclusion from the CVD duty investigation, only 20 would be excluded from the trade action. (The 20 excluded companies obtain their logs from the U.S., the Maritimes, or on private, non-Crown land).

March 22, 2002: The DOC announces its final determinations in the CVD and AD investigations - finding that on average, Canadian softwood lumber receives a CVD/AD subsidy rate of 29.01%.

April 2, 2002: The Canadian government requests a panel review of the U.S. final subsidy and antidumping determinations under Chapter 19 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. (A final panel report is expected this month). Also on this day, Canfor Corporation, Doman Industries and Tembec announce they will sue the U.S. government for damages under Chapter 11 of NAFTA.

April 25, 2002: The DOC determines the final subsidy rate on Canadian softwood lumber is 18.79%, with an average dumping rate of 8.43%. The combined CVD/AD rate is 27.22%.

May 2, 2002: The U.S. International Trade Commission votes 4 to 0 that the U.S. softwood lumber industry is "threatened" with material injury from Canadian softwood lumber imports.

May 22, 2002: The U.S. Customs Service requires cash deposits on lumber imported from Canada from this day on.

July 17, 2002: DOC issues a notice of initiation for expedited reviews on the CVD charge.

July 26, 2002: The World Trade Organization provides a preliminary ruling on one of the Canadian challenges, finding the DOC made errors in its preliminary determination of subsidy

Sept. 20, 2002: DOC initiates expedited reviews of the countervailing duty (CVD) on specified softwood lumber products from Canada, adding another 31 companies (the majority of which are B.C.-based) to its earlier list.

Jan. 6, 2003: DOC releases its Proposed Analytical Framework on the dispute, dubbed the Aldonas Proposal for the DOC Under Secretary, Grant Aldonas.

February 2003: U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to issue a final policy bulletin on the softwood lumber dispute with Canada.