The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, April 16, edition that British Columbia Forests Minister Ravi Parmar aims to keep the lumber trade dispute a priority for Ottawa. The Globe's Brent Jang reports that the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA or CUSMA) does not directly address Canadian softwood shipments and is set for review this year. Canadian lumber producers continue to pay the punitive duties, which are cash deposits held in trust by the U.S. that collect interest. Mr. Parmar said it is important to recoup a significant portion of the cash deposits to allow Canadian producers to reinvest that money in their operations. About $2-billion in interest has accumulated over the past nine years, bringing the total of duties paid plus accumulated interest to more than $10-billion (all figures U.S.). Some Canadian-based companies have increased their presence in U.S. forests and gained the side benefit of lumber production at their American operations being exempted from duties. The powerful U.S. Lumber Coalition has been an effective lobby group, and remains suspicious that most forests in Canada are on Crown land, where buyers pay "stumpage fees" to provincial governments for the right to log.