Gold9472
08-23-2005, 11:02 PM
Officials hint at U.S.-Can trade war
On U.S. in escalating softwood lumber dispute
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=7e78dfbc-60cd-482c-80be-00e8c78ce618
Alexander Panetta
August 23, 2005
REGINA -- The federal government hinted at an escalating trade war Tuesday as two senior cabinet ministers warned of potential tariffs on American exports in retaliation for U.S. policies on softwood lumber.
Trade Minister Jim Peterson is identifying areas where Canadian tariffs could put maximum pressure on the U.S. economy with minimal damage domestically, two of his cabinet colleagues said.
One federal minister used a Canadian sports analogy to describe the federal government's willingness to retaliate against its NAFTA partner.
''I have a background from my younger days in hockey. When somebody slammed you into the boards with undue force and aggression, you took their number,'' Industry Minister David Emerson said in a scrum.
''I think we've got to take their number.''
The warning comes one week after the United States announced it would ignore a decision by a NAFTA panel that found Canadian lumber exports posed no threat of injury to U.S. producers.
Emerson said Ottawa is trying to ''identify a number of products where a tariff on American exports into Canada can be applied without serious damage to the Canadian economy and, hopefully, with maximum impact in the U.S. . .
''The idea is a wakeup call (to the U.S.)''
Canada is already seeking WTO authorization for billions of dollars in punitive tariffs against U.S. imports and is going before the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York to force the refund of duties.
With more that 80 per cent of Canadian exports going to the U.S. and the countries exchanging $1 billion each day, Canada would need to tread carefully to avoid a crippling trade war.
But the federal government is intent on making its point that U.S. Customs has illegally collected $5 billion in tariffs on Canadian softwood since 2002, said Finance Minister Ralph Goodale.
''We want to make sure that whatever option we pursue is effective in making our point . . . without at the same time shooting ourselves in the foot,'' he said.
''Canada has wanted to make it very clear that we are not happy with the position of the United States to simply ignore what is a clear NAFTA ruling in Canada's favour.''
One particularly draconian measure has already been ruled out - imposing export quotas on Canadian oil exports to punish alleged U.S. protectionism on lumber.
Emerson, who initially supported the idea when he was a lumber-industry executive, now says it would unfairly saddle Alberta with the bulk of the economic fallout.
He said Tuesday the government is considering tariffs that wouldn't damage the economy in one single region of the country.
''We are stronger as a country when we pull together in a unified way. If we take actions that create regional balkanization, division and friction, we're not becoming stronger as a country,'' Emerson said.
''(We have) to find effective tools that aren't going to create more problems at home than they solve abroad.''
Also Tuesday, Goodale dismissed reports of bursting government coffers as wildly exaggerated and rejected private-sector forecasts that the surplus for 2004-05 will total more than $8 billion.
He said the actual surplus for the last fiscal year will wind up being far closer to his initial projections - $3 billion or ''a little bit less'' and said this year's projections are also ''the most accurate prognosticators'' of what lies ahead.
© Canadian Press 2005
On U.S. in escalating softwood lumber dispute
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=7e78dfbc-60cd-482c-80be-00e8c78ce618
Alexander Panetta
August 23, 2005
REGINA -- The federal government hinted at an escalating trade war Tuesday as two senior cabinet ministers warned of potential tariffs on American exports in retaliation for U.S. policies on softwood lumber.
Trade Minister Jim Peterson is identifying areas where Canadian tariffs could put maximum pressure on the U.S. economy with minimal damage domestically, two of his cabinet colleagues said.
One federal minister used a Canadian sports analogy to describe the federal government's willingness to retaliate against its NAFTA partner.
''I have a background from my younger days in hockey. When somebody slammed you into the boards with undue force and aggression, you took their number,'' Industry Minister David Emerson said in a scrum.
''I think we've got to take their number.''
The warning comes one week after the United States announced it would ignore a decision by a NAFTA panel that found Canadian lumber exports posed no threat of injury to U.S. producers.
Emerson said Ottawa is trying to ''identify a number of products where a tariff on American exports into Canada can be applied without serious damage to the Canadian economy and, hopefully, with maximum impact in the U.S. . .
''The idea is a wakeup call (to the U.S.)''
Canada is already seeking WTO authorization for billions of dollars in punitive tariffs against U.S. imports and is going before the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York to force the refund of duties.
With more that 80 per cent of Canadian exports going to the U.S. and the countries exchanging $1 billion each day, Canada would need to tread carefully to avoid a crippling trade war.
But the federal government is intent on making its point that U.S. Customs has illegally collected $5 billion in tariffs on Canadian softwood since 2002, said Finance Minister Ralph Goodale.
''We want to make sure that whatever option we pursue is effective in making our point . . . without at the same time shooting ourselves in the foot,'' he said.
''Canada has wanted to make it very clear that we are not happy with the position of the United States to simply ignore what is a clear NAFTA ruling in Canada's favour.''
One particularly draconian measure has already been ruled out - imposing export quotas on Canadian oil exports to punish alleged U.S. protectionism on lumber.
Emerson, who initially supported the idea when he was a lumber-industry executive, now says it would unfairly saddle Alberta with the bulk of the economic fallout.
He said Tuesday the government is considering tariffs that wouldn't damage the economy in one single region of the country.
''We are stronger as a country when we pull together in a unified way. If we take actions that create regional balkanization, division and friction, we're not becoming stronger as a country,'' Emerson said.
''(We have) to find effective tools that aren't going to create more problems at home than they solve abroad.''
Also Tuesday, Goodale dismissed reports of bursting government coffers as wildly exaggerated and rejected private-sector forecasts that the surplus for 2004-05 will total more than $8 billion.
He said the actual surplus for the last fiscal year will wind up being far closer to his initial projections - $3 billion or ''a little bit less'' and said this year's projections are also ''the most accurate prognosticators'' of what lies ahead.
© Canadian Press 2005