Canada applauds NAFTA decision on U.S. softwood lumber dutie
Newsbot @ Fri Oct 06, 2023 7:28 am
Title: Canada applauds NAFTA decision on U.S. softwood lumber duties
Category: Business
Posted By: DrCaleb
Date: 2023-10-06 06:56:10
Canadian
DrCaleb @ Fri Oct 06, 2023 7:28 am
"History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme" - Mark Twain.
Strutz @ Fri Oct 06, 2023 9:25 am
This reminded me of this old joke I've probably posted before. Forgive the references because according to my archive files I saved this in 2003. Funny how things haven't changed much...
$1:
The Canadian government has agreed to assist the USA in the war against terrorism.
We have agreed to send:
6000 ground troops
5 of our fast patrol frigates
6 fighter jets
After the exchange rate the USA will receive:
2 Mounties
1 canoe and a bunch of secret squirrels.
With the restrictions and taxes on Canadian lumber, the canoe's paddles will likely be held at the border.
We have agreed to send:
6000 ground troops
5 of our fast patrol frigates
6 fighter jets
After the exchange rate the USA will receive:
2 Mounties
1 canoe and a bunch of secret squirrels.
With the restrictions and taxes on Canadian lumber, the canoe's paddles will likely be held at the border.
bootlegga @ Fri Oct 06, 2023 10:39 am
Like this makes a difference - the US will ignore it like they do every other NAFTA ruling...
Thanos @ Fri Oct 06, 2023 8:55 pm
Yup. The Yanks won't care. Biden is even more America First in almost all of his policies than Trump ever was. And Canada hasn't done itself much good international by exponentially increasing our self-serving talk about "how good we are" while simultaneously withdrawing more & more from international activities& obligations with each passing year. The same federal government that has endless billions to spend on items that are of strategic benefit for the Liberal party agenda somehow just found reason to cut another billion dollars from our disintegrating armed forces.
International agreements and international law aren't worth the paper they're printed on at the best of times. And Canada consistently gives out for free all the valid reasons we can, thanks to our indifferent behaviour, for the US to altogether ignore the decisions made by these toothless courts & review boards. Whatever. 
DrCaleb @ Sat Oct 07, 2023 8:10 am
It amuses me too that the US pounds on our supply management in Dairy all the time, but then totally ignores our agreements on Softwood. 
JaredMilne @ Sat Oct 07, 2023 3:23 pm
DrCaleb DrCaleb:
It amuses me too that the US pounds on our supply management in Dairy all the time, but then totally ignores our agreements on Softwood.
Yeah, and nearly 20 years ago Mel Hurtig was quoting Canadian officials saying the U.S. ignoring the softwood lumber dispute "rips the heart out of NAFTA." Oh, and NAFTA was fucking useless when the American cattle rancher's associations were fighting to keep the border closed to our beef even after we sorted everything out with the mad cow scare up here.
And why is it that, even though we're the ones with the supply management, the Americans are the ones that ended up having to dump massive amounts of unsellable milk in farmers' fields?