Federal Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr assured that discussions remain ongoing over the United States’ Department of Commerce decision to end the exclusion on Canadian softwood lumber from countervailing duties.
READ MORE: New Brunswick will ‘fight back with facts’ against U.S. softwood lumber tariff: premier
“This is not new,” said Carr, while touring H. J. Crabbe & Sons Ltd. lumber mill in Florenceville-Bristol, NB. “To come to New Brunswick is to remember that the first lumber dispute was actually in 1829 between New Brunswick and Maine.”
“And we’ve been fighting with the Americans ever since,” he said jokingly.
Premier Brian Gallant also toured the location which employs approximately 50 people.
READ MORE: New Brunswick seeking continued exemption from duties on lumber exports to U.S.
With talks continuing, Gallant said he is optimistic a resolution which benefits Canadians will be reached as it would be one that would benefit the U.S. as well.
“It’s important not only here for jobs across the country,” Gallant said. “But it’s also important to keep costs low for families in the U.S.
“Robust trade between the U.S and Canada creates jobs on both sides of the border.”
The countervaling decision is the first of two U.S. Department of Commerce decisions on lumber, an anti-dumping determination is expected sometime in June.
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