US and Canada to hold talks over lumber row: official

The United States and Canada will hold talks in Washington next week in an attempt to resolve a long-standing row over lumber, a US trade official told Reuters on Friday. Senior government officials from both countries will meet in Washington on Monday, the trade official said.
The United States and Canada have been fighting for years over some $6 billion a year in softwood lumber that Canada ships across the border to the United States. The row has resulted in numerous trade panel reviews, rulings and appeals.
"Ambassador Portman (US Trade Representative) has taken a keen interest in trying to resolve this long-standing dispute," the official said.
"While this is a highly complex negotiation we believe that both sides are serious about seeking a long-term resolution and we hope that next week's negotiations will be a good start to that process."
The United States has slapped countervailing and anti-dumping duties of more than 27 percent on Canadian spruce, pine, fir and other wood imports, used to build and remodel houses. Washington and the US lumber industry claim Canada unfairly subsidises its softwood producers.
The Bush administration last November filed an "extraordinary challenge" to an August decision by a North American Free Trade Agreement panel, which upheld two earlier decisions that US companies will not be harmed by imports of Canadian lumber.
Without injury to US companies, or threat of injury, the United States cannot impose duties even if Canadian provinces provide unfair subsidies to Canadian companies or sell their wood in the United States at below-market prices.
A NAFTA extraordinary challenge committee held a hearing in Washington at the beginning of June, but has not yet announced its findings.
US and Canadian companies are keeping close watch on more than $3 billion collected by the Bush administration in the form of punitive anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Canadian wood imports.
Canada denies any illegal trade activities and has demanded that the duties end. Ottawa announced on February 9 it would ask the World Trade Organisation to order a full refund.