quote:
U.S. wants new softwood talks: Emerson
Last Updated: Saturday, March 31, 2007 | 10:03 AM ET
The Canadian Press The United States is requesting consultations with Canada under the Softwood Lumber Agreement reached last fall.
In a news release late Friday, International Trade Minister David Emerson said the United States wants to talk about federal and provincial forestry programs and the so-called surge mechanism, which penalizes exporters if they ship above their set quotas.
Emerson said the agreement, which the Conservative government hammered out over the objections of some industry segments, was negotiated with the view of continued co-operation and open dialogue between the U.S. and Canada.
"Given the complexity of the agreement, we expected that such administrative issues would arise,'' Emerson said in the release. "For this reason, the agreement contained a new framework to allow for a full exchange of views.
"This is a good opportunity for Canada and the United States to once again work closely and to work through our disagreements in a constructive manner.''
Emerson said he had spoken with U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and both have directed their respective officials to plan for a meeting within 20 days.
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Sure, sure Emerson, you were expecting the USA to keep wrangling over this issue all along. That's why it was presented as the final word on softwood. We gave the US/Bush govt. one billion last negotiation for discretionary spending -- any chance they're just angling for another billion or so?
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posted 31 March 2007 12:17 PM
