OTTAWA – A new tariff being imposed by the U.S. on Canadian softwood lumber imports is yet another example of how the Harper Conservatives’ lack of a coordinated approach with the new U.S. administration is hurting Canadian industry, Liberal International Trade Critic Scott Brison and Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae said today.

“Once again we are witnessing an example of the stunning incompetence of this government,” said Mr. Brison. “Instead of working with our American partners to head off a dispute that was months in the making, the government was asleep at the switch and failed our industry and our workers – again.”

The critics were responding to news that the U.S. will be imposing a 10 per cent customs duty on some of Canada’s softwood lumber imports in response to what it sees as Canada’s failure to live up to a recent court ruling on the softwood lumber deal signed by Canada and the U.S. in 2006.

In response to that ruling on the agreement, the Conservatives attempted to meet the terms of the ruling by offering up a payment that the Americans have rejected as a further violation of the agreement.

“This is just one more crippling blow to an industry that has already unfairly suffered at the hands of the Harper government,” said Mr. Rae. “They stood idle and then thought that making this payment at the last minute would make the problem go away. Their mishandling of this issue is incredible, and it continues to hurt Canadian taxpayers, industry and workers.”

Mr. Brison said this latest setback for Canada’s ailing softwood lumber industry is a stark reminder of how fundamentally flawed the Harper government’s softwood agreement is and highlights how the Harper/Obama relationship has already fallen apart.

“Similar to how they mishandled the auto sector, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and the U.S. country-of-origin labelling regulations – known as COOL – this is yet another example of how delays on the part of the Harper government and a lack of coordination with the U.S. is hurting Canada,” said Mr. Brison.

News