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American Consumers Shocked Over Canadian Softwood Lumber Settlement |
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Written by Wire Services
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Friday, 28 April 2006 |
Susan Petniunas, spokesperson for American Consumers for Affordable Homes (ACAH) released the following statement today in Washington concerning the Canadian/American deal in regards to softwood lumber. ACAH is an alliance of national organizations and trade associations that account for more than 95 percent of the lumber consumption in the United States. The statement reads as follows:
"We are completely shocked that government officials in Canada and the U.S. forced through an eleventh-hour negotiated framework for a bad deal to settle the softwood lumber dispute. The devil is in the details, and we are hopeful that this framework will falter and a more thoughtful approach will be reached over the next several months.
"Clearly consumer viewpoints were not seriously considered, and American homebuyers will suffer a government imposed tax on new homes, remodeling and lumber products for another seven to nine years. Based on the framework, the intent of the two governments is to set the price of lumber and implement managed trade mechanisms to keep those prices high. This guarantees significant volatility in the housing market. If two companies were to do that, it would clearly be illegal.
"Being creative, and to circumvent the illegal Byrd Amendment which would not be able to be applied to Canadian lumber anyway, this deal would create a special "fund" to give a half billion dollars of U.S. homebuyer money to reward a small group of lumber companies who lost their cases in NAFTA, specifically mostly southern timberland owners, and forestry companies including International Paper, Potlach, Plum Creek, Sierra Pacific, and Temple Inland, members of the Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports. This sets a very bad precedent.
"We are hopeful that last-minute pressure to just "get a deal done" for political reasons will lead to a more rational resolution to this dispute, and that consumers are seriously considered." |
