US trade representative Susan Schwab has confirmed that the US is to start arbitration proceedings against Canada over the Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA).
Ms Schwab said that the decision to go to arbitration was “regrettable” as the signing of the SLA signalled “the end of over 20 years of litigation”.
However, she said that the two countries had been unable to resolve persistent issues through consultation and that the US was going ahead with arbitration proceedings to “ensure that the SLA is fully implemented”.
“The United States has no choice but to initiate arbitration proceedings to compel Canada to live up to its SLA obligations relating to export volume caps, proper application of the impact surge mechanism and anti-circumvention,” said Ms Schwab.
The SLA came into force on October 12, 2006, but the US and Canada have been in ongoing talks to ensure the complete implementation of the agreement, with US officials threatening arbitration proceedings since May.
