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New USTR Appointment Passes Senate
One of many, many outstanding questions on the new Canada-US softwood lumber dispute was answered Friday morning when the US Senate approved US President Donald Trump’s appointment of US Trade Representative. The upper chamber voted with a large bipartisan majority Thursday to approve Robert Lighthizer, which gives the administration its U.S. trade representative and allows…
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US Softwood Lumber Duty 2017: Complete Confusion
Operators are suffering total bewilderment as US Customs and Border officials can not provide clarity on vital details of application of the new softwood lumber duties to entry waybills and pro-forma invoices. An experienced US customs broker, a good source for Madison’s, upon finally speaking to decision-makers at the US Commerce Department last week about…
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Canada Considers Retaliatory Trade Actions Against the Latest US Softwood Lumber Duties
BREAKING NEWS MID-DAY FRIDAY: The Canadian government has found several Oregon business-assistance programs it says may constitute illegal subsidies. It is considering a process that could lead to retaliatory duties on imports from that state’s products, such as plywood, flooring, wood chips, packaging material and wine, according to several mainstream news sources mid-day Friday. Prime…
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Material Updates on US Softwood Lumber Duty
The much-anticipated Preliminary Countervailing Duty on a wide range of Canadian softwood lumber product exports into the US became known last week, but the announcement created more questions than it answered. Forest operators in the north scrambled to all available sources for answers about changes to paperwork and any new mechanism at the border, while…
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DOC Office of Enforcement and Compliance’s Position on CVD Rate to be used
Madison’s is becoming increasingly alarmed that — through sheer lack of clarity and basic instructions to US Customs Border agents — the US has a sneaky way of applying the highest announced softwood lumber duty rates to the widest range of companies: what is “all others”?? that’s not a legal definition. is the duty rate…
