We’ve got stories today from both sides of the 49th parallel about US duties on Canadian paper makers. The US Department of Commerce announced that preliminary antidumping and countervailing duties will be imposed on about 25 Canadian plants. According to NORPAC’s CEO, this will level the playing field for “workers and families that have been victims of unfair Canadian trade practices“. Publishers of US newspapers are fearful that this move will have a devastating impact on their sector, already struggling to compete with digital. Newfoundland’s Premier Dwight Ball spoke out “against the increased protectionist environment that exists in the US“.
Homebuilders in the US are feeling a pinch in the face of increased demand for homes. On top of growing wages and competition for workers, environmental factors and tariffs on Canadian lumber have pushed up the price of building materials, according to a Real Estate Consulting Group survey, and NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz.
In forestry, Port Renfrew old growth trees will soon star in a new IMAX movie; restrictions in Nova Scotia have been set up to quarantine the hemlock woolly adelgid; and forestry is a top employer in Georgia, where 145,000 are employed by the sector.
Finally, not sure what to do with your Christmas tree? How about returning it for a full refund?!
—Sandy McKellar, Tree Frog Editor