Governor Racicot, who grew up 16 miles from the Canadian border, reaffirmed the Bush Administration''s commitment to permanently resolve the softwood lumber dispute. He updated the Senators on the United State''s discussions of the past two weeks with the Canadians and shared his view that the opportunity exists to negotiate a settlement that will obviate further investigations by the Department of Commerce.
"Hundreds of jobs have been lost in Maine because of record low lumber prices caused, in large part, by unfair Canadian practices," said Snowe and Collins. "Maine has the workforce and resources to compete with anyone in the world in lumber production as long as that competition is fair. The subsidies found by the Department of Commerce make it perfectly clear that the United States is within its right to use its trade laws to protect U.S. jobs. We simply cannot compete with firms that enjoy subsidies of 20 to 30%."
Governor Racicot assured the Senators that the Administration will continue to pursue a resolution through the use of its trade laws and through negotiation.
"We applaud the Administration''s commitment to resolving this issue once and for all, said the Senators." "While it is our hope that a negotiated agreement can be reached, we must remain committed to using the protections allowed under our trade laws until an agreement can be reached that ensures free and fair trade."
Following the expiration of the U.S.-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement on March 31, 2001, the U.S. Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports filed suit in federal court against unfair lumber subsidies by the government of Canada. The U.S. industry lawsuit set in motion separate investigations by the Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission. A final decision in the investigation is expected in March of 2002 assuming that a negotiated agreement is not reached beforehand.