The Vancouver Sun reports in its Friday edition that the softwood lumber dispute has hit a "bit of a Groundhog Day loop," NDP Premier John Horgan said Thursday, as the U.S. Department of Commerce issued its final determination for punitive duties against Canadian lumber imports. The Sun's Derrick Penner quotes Mr. Horgan as saying that Canada and the U.S. had a narrow window to reach a trade agreement, but negotiations could not get past protectionist interests in the U.S. industry.
That kept the American trade litigation on track for Thursday's decision on tariffs, which Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland promptly promised to appeal in what is now the fifth round of the long-running trade dispute.
"It's a narrow group who stand to personally benefit from this, that leads us to this debate every decade or so," Mr. Horgan told reporters at a news conference. "Now we have to continue with what has become a bit of a Groundhog Day loop through litigations and tribunals."
The final duties, which will be permanent if no trade deal is reached to supersede them or they are not overturned on appeal, were set at a total of between 20.8 per cent and 22.1 per cent, depending on the lumber company.
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