Martin pitches softwood to China

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Martin pitches softwood to China

This is not the best news source. I know the softwood lumber dispute has suddenly heated up and Martin is angry. This was the only link I could find on short notice and I have to be out the front door in a few minutes.

I am very worried about this dispute. The US lumber industry has started to jack up their prices in the wake of Katrina.

Prime Minister Paul Martin made a direct pitch to Chinese President Hu Jintao over the weekend to sell more Canadian softwood to China in an effort to lessen Canada’s reliance on the contentious U.S. market.

The overture was made amid growing calls for a tougher Canadian response to the lingering softwood trade dispute with the United States, which will see a bump in demand for softwood as a result of the rebuilding effort along the storm-savaged Gulf Coast.

The Americans have refused to comply with a recent NAFTA panel ruling that said there is no basis to impose trade tariffs on Canadian softwood, insisting instead on a negotiated solution to the dispute.

Canada cannot retaliate by slapping tariffs on other U.S. goods, because it has lost a separate case before the World Trade Organization.