Canada

The U.S. has effectively halted its World Trade Organization dispute with Canada over Washington’s countervailing duties on softwood lumber, appealing the panel report, which faulted the U.S. duties, into the void of a nonfunctioning Appellate Body.

“We expect the Canadian government to act forcefully if any such violations occur,” said USW’s Ken Neumann.

Following consultations with the Canadian government, the U.S. will refrain from imposing a 10 percent tariff on non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum from Canada, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Tuesday.  

President Trump’s re-imposition of tariffs on Canadian aluminum could have serious implications for the implementation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) said this week.

The implementation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to date has been smoother than expected, a top U.S. Customs and Border Protection official tells Inside U.S. Trade.

A World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel on Monday ruled the U.S. inappropriately applied countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber, prompting U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to hold up the ruling as an example of the flaws of the WTO’s dispute settlement system in claiming the U.S. would “reject” the verdict.

Lawmakers, local officials, seasonal growers and agriculture industry representatives on Thursday implored the Trump administration to take action against allegedly trade-distorting subsidies from the Mexican government for perishable produce exports to the U.S.

The Canadian government next month will apply tariffs on approximately $2.7 billion worth of U.S. aluminum and aluminum-containing products in response to the Trump administration’s re-imposition of Section 232 tariffs on Canadian aluminum, the country’s deputy prime minister announced on Friday.

The Trump administration intends to impose tariffs of 10 percent on some aluminum from Canada, sources tell Inside U.S. Trade, adding that the duties will take effect on Aug. 16.