Last month Ms Schwab, a US trade representative, requested talks between the two countries to assess how the agreement had been implemented.

Following that meeting, Mr Emerson has said that he hopes to meet Ms Schwab in the coming weeks in order to get “feedback on where they’re at” and to continue on a “constructive positive path”.

The US-Canada softwood lumber agreement was introduced on October 12, 2006 in order to bring a long-running feud over the supposed subsidisation of the Canadian lumber industry to a finish.