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Resolutions in Congress Call for Free Trade on Canadian Lumber

A bipartisan resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on May 22 calls for “open trade between the United States and Canada on softwood lumber free of trade restraints that harm consumers.”

Companion resolution, S. Con. Res. 22, which was introduced in the Senate in March, and the new H. Con Res. 197 “send a message loud and clear that trade barriers are bad economic policy and that the needs of consumers must be taken into account in trade disputes,” said NAHB First Vice President Bobby Rayburn.

(To read the resolutions, click here, and type in S. Con. Res. 22 and H. Con. Res. 197 in the box at the upper left.)

The House resolution states that the “imposition of special duties on U.S. consumers of softwood lumber…jeopardizes housing affordability,” and it calls on the Bush Administration to allow pending legal cases before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to proceed to a conclusion, without any delays, in order to resolve the trade dispute.

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Reps. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), Richard Neal (D-MA), David Dreier (R-CA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and 18 other U.S. representatives sponsored the House resolution.

The 27% tariffs on softwood lumber imports from Canada, noted Rep. Kolbe, “are penalizing home buyers and other U.S. lumber consumers.”

“It is wrong to penalize consumers when there is no significant proof that there has been any damage to the U.S. industry by Canadian imports,” Kolbe added. “This dispute has been going on for more than 20 years. The U.S. consumer suffers, while the U.S. government and industry have never been able to prove that the imports actually harm our domestic industry.”

Sen. Don Nickles (R-OK), the lead sponsor of the resolution in the Senate said, “It’s time for our trade policy to reflect fairness to all of the stakeholders, including consumers, in discussions about trade in lumber.”
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