U.S. Begins Collecting Softwood Tariff

Customs and Border Protection, acting on Canada’s violation of lumber quotas, began collecting a 10 percent tariff on softwood lumber from four provinces in Canada, the agency said.

The action follows a decision by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk last week to impose the tariff as a remedy for Canada’s breach of the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement.

In February, an international arbitration panel in London ruled that Canada owed the U.S. for failing to calculate quotas properly during the first half of 2007, according to the USTR office.

The panel ruled that Canada owed the U.S. $54.8 million. The Canadian government offered to pay $36.26 million, but the USTR rejected the offer on April 2.

The USTR said the tariff would be in effect until it collects $54.8 million.