Political Quotes

“I support the efforts of the Department of Commerce and United States Trade Representative to negotiate a fair trade agreement with Canada. We have a very important trading relationship with Canada. They are America's strongest trading partner, and I hope we can continue strengthening that relationship. However, Canada subsidizes its lumber mills, and those mills are dumping lumber in our domestic market. This has a devastating effect on the lumber industry in America, particularly in Mississippi where mills are closing each month. Currently, the Department of Commerce has imposed a countervailing duty to offset the injury to our market. Canadian mills must pay a 29 percent duty on top of the cost of producing their lumber. To arrive at that duty rate, the Department of Commerce calculates what it costs Canadian lumber producers to process their lumber. In fact, a U.S. statute, Sec. 19 U.S.C. 1677, states that duties should be considered a cost of production incurred on shipments to the United States. Today, Senators Craig, Baucus, Burns, Miller, Crapo, Lott, Sessions, Snowe, Collins, Lincoln, and I introduced a bill to clarify the law so that there is no misunderstanding of the rules under which the Department of Commerce calculates the duties imposed on illegally subsidized Canadian lumber.”