Softwood BC highest duties still

[waynetyea]

thanks for sacrificing poor old BC for the benefit of the rest of canadas forest sector...boy oh boy you feds really know how to negotiate for us. not. this is unacceptable . get to work on a better deal or let us negotiate yours up and ours down... just once. thanks for nada once more.

[Gixxer]

huh? Its passed on to the American consumer. So its hitting Americans in the pockets.

[waynetyea]

dont kid yourself now we still have to compete with other areas of the world for selling wood... its like starting off with 30% added to your cost before you make a nickel profit. its another way to screw the people of BC. but we should be used to it by now..... its time to separate

[Cactusflower]

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[seewood]

These duties are the result of governors from the south and Montana whining about the better quality wood coming from Canada affecting their states lumber producers. The trees in the south for example grow like weeds and consequently when dried are twisted pieces of junk. The builders love using Canadian products because of the quality and stability.
Some of the major lumber producers here have bought defunct mills in the south and resurrected them to a point they are making decent lumber with modern equipment.

The way Canada has competed in the past was the difference in the dollar, technology and log quality, still do. If the mills here quote FOB at the mill gate they will still do just fine. Any duties perhaps are paid further downstream, before getting to the American consumer. If lumber can be sourced from Europe for less, I suspect that will cut into Canada's market share.
What many of the Americans want is access to our unmanufactured logs, shiploads going to Oregon and Washington State.
In my opinion the argument out logs are subsidized is nonsense. It has been proven at the WTO time and time again it is not subsidized. The Americans are like the "hydro is best" deniers.

[Walking Wounded]

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[Cactusflower]

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[alanjh595]

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[The Green Barbarian]

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[The Green Barbarian]

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[Cactusflower]

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[The Green Barbarian]

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The softwood duties are a pain, and it's too bad the Obama (his name be praised) didn't fix this mess before he left office.