Forest Protection

In an April 17 editorial on the expiration of the U.S.-Canada softwood lumber agreement, The Times argues that the claim of unfair Canadian subsidies for lumber has been made three times in the last 20 years and never succeeded. Over the past 15 years, the Commerce Department twice determined that stumpage programs in Canada constituted unfair subsidies. These determinations were then overruled by binational panels, with three Canadians outvoting two Americans each time.

The Canadian government grossly subsidizes its timber exports. The Canadian government also has allowed timber companies to fraudulently characterize old-growth timber as less valuable wood during the valuation process.

Canadian provincial governments help their timber industry by lowering environmental standards and enforcement. Canada doesn’t even possess a federal endangered species act despite the listing of over 300 species in peril. Roughly three-quarters of these species, such as the grizzly bear and numerous stocks of salmon, share habitats with the U.S.

These unfair subsidies to the Canadian timber industry undermine critical U.S. environmental efforts. Free trade means trade by the rules. Trade subsidies that spur environmental destruction should be one thing we all seek to end. With the price of wood at near-record lows, we need a softwood lumber agreement that promotes ecological protection and fair trade.

WILLIAM J. SNAPE III

Vice President for Law, Defenders

of Wildlife, Washington