Days after the Obama administration rejected the Keystone XL pipeline proposal, the U.S. has thrown a trade olive branch to Canada -- agreeing to extend a contentious softwood lumber agreement until 2015.
International Trade Minister Ed Fast and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced on Monday in Washington a two-year extension to the multibillion-dollar Canada-U.S. softwood lumber agreement that will now run until October 2015.
"I think it is reflective of the fact that the market in the U.S. remains fairly flat," said John Allan, president of the B.C. Council of Forest Indus-tries. "Neither side really wanted to to open up the agreement.
"I think people are still weary from 2006," he said, referring to the softwood lumber dispute that ended in 2006 with the signing of the current agreement. Canada's share of the U.S. lumber market has fallen since then from 34% to 26% today.
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