Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, has released the following statement in response to today’s North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) ruling on the U.S. International Trade Commission’s (USITC) determination that the Canadian lumber industry has harmed the U.S. industry:

“Our government is extremely disappointed in the NAFTA panel’s ruling affirming the USITC’s January 2018 material injury determination.

“This is only one piece in the ongoing softwood lumber dispute, and resolving this dispute is our top trade priority. Separate NAFTA appeals of the Department of Commerce’s countervailing duty and anti-dumping duty determinations have also been initiated.

“We will continue to defend the 57,000 hard-working people whose livelihoods depend on B.C.’s forest industry against these unfair and unjustified tariffs.

“We will fight alongside Canada, on behalf of British Columbians and the communities that rely on the forest sector, as we continue to challenge these unfair tariffs through the appeals processes.”