Ontario Responds to NAFTA Panel Ruling on Anti-dumping Duties

Today, Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, and Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, issued the following statement regarding this week’s North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panel ruling on Canada’s challenge to anti-dumping duties imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC):

“The Ontario government strongly supports its forest industry and firmly believes that Canadian softwood lumber exports to the United States should not be subject to anti-dumping duties. We are encouraged by the NAFTA panel’s decision to send back certain aspects of the DoC’s final dumping determination to the DoC for further consideration – and we hope this process will illustrate that anti-dumping duties on softwood lumber are unwarranted and unfair.

Ontario’s forest sector generates nearly $21 billion in annual revenue from the sale of manufactured goods and services and supports more than 142,000 direct and indirect jobs. The workers, families and communities who depend on our forest sector can have confidence our government will continue to advocate on their behalf.

Together with provincial governments, the federal government and industry leaders across the country, we stand united to support the Canadian forest industry and free trade between our two countries.”

To view the original release, please click here.

Source: Government of Ontario