Thank you very much. I'm pleased you raised this, because it's something I've lived through, as a member of Parliament. I've seen the dramatic impacts of what's happened with this dispute in my home province of British Columbia and the negative impacts it's had on that sector.
Resolving this dispute has been an enormous priority for this government, starting with the Prime Minister and right through our entire government. I have been involved in direct conversations with the Prime Minister. As you are very much aware, Mr. Cullen, this is the Minister of International Trade's file, but I will say this. As you are aware, there is a framework agreement, and final negotiations are concluding this. The anti-circumvention clause is a necessary part of any agreement. That clause protects our Canadian sovereignty and our forest policies. It's a two-way clause; in other words, the United States can't change their policies, and we can't be forced to change, nor can we change, ours.
The issue here is with the stumpage within British Columbia. As you know, this is an issue that's been looked at by the British Columbia government. It's an issue they've been working on for a number of years now and are getting very close to bringing into play. I'm confident they will be able to bring these policy changes with respect to stumpage in the interior. These changes were brought in to strengthen our position with respect to the entire reason why some of the countervail duties were put in place in the beginning. I can say this is only strengthening it. With respect to some of the specific issues surrounding that—specifically the stumpage in British Columbia—I genuinely believe that we will get around this.
This is good for Canada; this is good for the industry. As you know, when the price of lumber is above $355 per thousand, we get unrestricted access to U.S. markets in every single province. This is the kind of certainty that the industry needs and has been looking for for a long time. There's flexibility within this agreement, where they can go to a quota-based system or an export tax when the price of lumber falls. Again, regarding the export tax, it's important to note that the money is staying in Canada. There are exemptions for the Atlantic provinces; there are exemptions for the mills in Quebec.
Finally, because you raised the issue of the $5 billion, which has often been criticized, I want you to note that the Canadian industry will get $4 billion. Eighty percent of that $5 billion goes directly back to the industry. What did the United States get? They got $500,000—only 10%—as a legal fund for the U.S. industry to recover its legal costs. The other $500,000, or 10%, is a joint fund to cover humanitarian projects or promote the industry on both sides of the border.
This is a great deal for Canada, and something we're very proud of.