Lower than expected U.S. penalties on softwood lumber exports from Canada are doing little to temper the dismay of the federal government in Ottawa.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng is calling the latest duties “baseless,” “unwarranted” and “unfair.”
The key final rate of 8.59 percent is significantly lower than the current rate of 17.91 percent, as well as the 11.64 percent proposed in a preliminary decision issued earlier this year.
But Ng says the duties are unjustified no matter the level, and will cause undue hardship to both Canada’s forestry industry and consumers in the U.S.
She says Ottawa will challenge the latest finding under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s dispute resolution system….