Canada, U.S. to Meet on Lumber Dispute

Canadian and U.S. officials are scheduled to meet in Ottawa on Tuesday in another attempt to settle their 10-month dispute over softwood lumber shipments, a spokesman for the Canadian Trade Department said.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick is sending his deputy, Peter Allgeier, while Canadian Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew told his No. 1 official, Deputy Minister Len Edwards, to cancel plans to join Pettigrew on a trade mission in Russia and Germany, Canadian government spokesman Andre Lemay said.

Pettigrew canceled meetings with U.S. officials a week ago after they didn’t come up with a counteroffer to a three-week-old Canadian proposal to end the row. The U.S. hit Canadian shipments of lumber with duties of as much as 38.5% last year, charging that sawmills are subsidized by Canadian provinces. Canada denies the accusation.

“The U.S. is now prepared to re-energize the softwood talks,” Lemay said. “The U.S. is bringing proposals to the table.”

Canada exported $7.5 billion worth of lumber to the U.S. last year, according to government figures.