Photo: Pacific Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service

NAFTA Ruling Should End Canada Lumber Duties

A unanimous decision last week by a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panel paves the way for the elimination of a hidden tax that has cost American home buyers and consumers more than $4 billion.

The ruling by the NAFTA Extraordinary Challenge Committee should end a drawn-out, three-year legal battle to overturn punitive tariffs on Canadian lumber shipments, said NAHB President David Wilson.

However, Wilson expressed concern over a statement from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative suggesting that it might not comply with the ruling. "We urge the Administration to allow this final verdict to be implemented without further delay," he said, "and to immediately rescind the tariffs and return to Canada more than $4 billion in deposits that have been collected." ...

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Pay Raises Remain Weak as Housing Prices Surge

The wages of many public servants — policy officers, teachers, fire fighters and nurses, among others — are not keeping pace with the cost of housing, according to a new study from the Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference. The study finds that as housing prices rise across the country, a growing number of working Americans cannot afford housing in the communities where they work. ...