NAFTA/TRADE DEALS: “The Trump administration said Monday [8-28-17] it would delay for two months the imposition of penalties on imports of Canadian lumber, citing continuing bilateral negotiations over the nettlesome trade dispute…
Mr. Ross said that penalties which had been scheduled to take effect Sept. 7 would now be delayed until Nov. 14. The U.S. announced in April that it would impose duties of up to 20% on imports of Canadian softwood lumber, which totaled more than $5 billion last year. Washington has accused Ottawa of unfairly subsidizing softwood exports, allowing Canadian industry to undercut U.S. competitors.
Mr. Ross’s concession on one of the major economic flashpoints between the U.S. and its northern neighbor comes as the Trump administration is in the early stages of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. The lumber dispute isn’t directly part of Nafta, but tensions around the issue could complicate those broader talks.
While Mr. Ross struck a newly conciliatory trade tone with Canada, President Donald Trump Monday repeated the hard line he has taken in recent days with Canada and Mexico, reiterating a threat to terminate Nafta if the current negotiations don’t satisfy him.”
-Jacob M. Schlesinger, “U.S. Postpones Import Penalties on Canadian Lumber,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 28, 2017 08:16pm