Madam Chair, I am very pleased to have this opportunity to bring the House up to date on our efforts to resolve the softwood lumber dispute with the United States.
The softwood lumber dispute is a vital issue affecting all Canadians. This dispute has already been going on for too long. I want to assure the House that the government is highly committed to resolving this dispute, which in fact is its top trade priority with the U.S. I can assure you that the government will steadfastly pursue its efforts to have the duties lifted and to get the deposits back.
We are continuing to work with our Canadian partners. Our collaborative relationship with the provinces has greatly helped maintain a united Canadian front vis-à-vis American protectionist interests. The continuing efforts of our Canadian industry to enhance its productivity and remain competitive in spite of the burden of this dispute are also laudable.
The importance of our relationship with the United States is lost to no one. We trade $1.8 billion worth of goods and services every day, 86% of our exports go to the U.S., 300,000 people cross the border every day, a truck crosses this border every two seconds. We are the largest trading relationship the world has ever seen.
In fact, it is because of the importance of this relationship that we negotiated the NAFTA in the first place. We wanted a rules based agreement with a dispute settlement mechanism that would bring certainty to our primary trading relationship.
For the NAFTA to have the integrity we all need, it is not good enough for the rules to be followed only when they are convenient. Despite the unanimous extraordinary challenge committee ruling on August 10, the United States still refuses to revoke the duty orders and refund the $5.1 billion in deposits. This is unacceptable. The bottom line is that the NAFTA cannot lead to North American solutions if settlements under its provisions can be overturned by special interests. The NAFTA must be respected.
To protect the NAFTA, we have engaged in a four track approach on softwood lumber, involving advocacy, litigation, retaliation and finding new markets.
We have engaged U.S. officials at the most senior levels. The Prime Minister discussed the dispute with President Bush, most recently a little over a week ago. The Prime Minister underlined the need for prompt and faithful implementation of NAFTA decisions. This is necessary if we are to preserve the NAFTA's integrity. President Fox of Mexico joined with us, and we welcome his support for respecting the NAFTA.
I have discussed the issue with Commerce Secretary Gutierrez and the U.S. trade representative Rob Portman and I have raised it with the ambassador to Canada.
Ambassador McKenna and our consuls general to the United States are meeting with state and local leaders to explain our position and gain their support. When the Prime Minister, my cabinet colleagues, the ambassador and the consuls general of Canada will be addressing American citizens and business people in the months to come, they will emphasize our concerns about the softwood lumber dispute, the threat it poses to NAFTA and the negative impact of duties on employment in the United States as well as on access to home ownership, an essential part of the American dream.
Canada is also working together with a number of like-minded American organizations, which believe that the duties adversely affect American companies, workers and consumers as well. Illegal duties on Canadian softwood lumber not only have a negative impact on many American industries dependent on softwood lumber, but ultimately they represent a disguised tax for American consumers.
Through our lobbying efforts, we are making Americans realize the burden these duties are putting on their everyday lives.
We are fighting our battles in the courtroom as well. On the litigation front we are aggressively pursuing legal challenges under the NAFTA, the WTO and before the U.S. Court of International Trade. Of these legal challenges, our key focus remains the U.S. Court of International Trade, where, if successful, the United States will be compelled to revoke the orders and refund our deposits.
On the issue of retaliating against our neighbours, I can tell members that this is not our preferred course of action. We have requested authority from the WTO to retaliate against the United States in three separate cases. These processes will take time and any retaliation would be preceded by consultations with Canadians.
Hon. members should also be aware that the government is working with the lumber industry to find new markets for Canadian lumber, capitalizing on our strengths in markets outside the United States. We cannot afford to miss opportunities in emerging powers, such as China, India, Brazil and Korea.
In support of these efforts, two weeks ago my colleague, the Minister of National Revenue, announced a $2.5 million investment in the Chinese market.
I have also asked that softwood lumber become a priority of our Canadian missions. We are continuing our close cooperation with the provinces and industry as part of the Canada wood export program, to help Canadian softwood lumber producers.
The government is sensitive to the impact the softwood lumber dispute has on communities and workers across the country. No other industry in Canada has been subjected to the same degree of U.S. trade actions as the lumber industry.
In response, the government has made available $356 million in federal assistance to forestry workers, communities and industries. In addition, I announced that $20 million would be made available to assist industry associations with their legal expenses in fighting this long-standing dispute. The Minister of Industry has said that he will shortly bring forth a new set of programs to help our workers, communities and companies.
Looking forward, we will continue to fight on all fronts in addressing this issue. We will continue to press our litigation challenges. We will seek new markets and opportunities beyond the United States. We will ensure that the NAFTA and its dispute settlement rules continue to work the way they were intended, with support from Mexico and through our intervention in the coalition's constitutional challenge. We will press our case in the U.S. and seek new and influential allies to help defend the interests of Canadians. We will deal with Americans who recognize the value of free, fair, rules based trade. We will continue to raise the softwood issue at the highest levels of the U.S. administration.
In closing, I would like to thank all the Liberal MPs who have worked so constructively with us on this issue, especially the members of our forestry caucus. I also want to thank the members of our department who have toiled tirelessly on this file, some for many years.
I want to assure members that in seeking a resolution to the softwood lumber dispute, we recognize that different conditions prevail throughout the industry and throughout Canada, that there are different conditions in maritime Canada, the border mills, central Canada, the west and B.C., and that independent remanners are different from primary producers.
We will work very closely with the provinces and the industries to achieve a resolution that is in the best interests of all Canadians. We will not stop fighting until we have found a solution to this dispute. Above all else, the NAFTA must be respected.
