After a year with the new NAFTA in place, Canada has returned to stability in its North American trading relationship, but historic disputes continue. Gone are the threats for the North American trade deal to be withdrawn, but in its place remain long-standing disputes over Buy American provisions, softwood lumber, and access to Canada’s dairy sector. “It’s a return to the good old days of NAFTA,” said Carlo Dade of the Canada West Foundation. “The small problems that we have with the agreement are a sign of return to the old normal,” he said. The trade agreement, which marks its one-year anniversary July 1, largely kept many provisions of the original 1994 North American trade pact. There was no chapter on government procurement between Canada and the U.S., nor was softwood lumber addressed. …With soaring housing prices, softwood lumber has been put at the front, once again, of the Canada-U.S. trade agenda. [We respect the copyrights of the source publication – full access may require a subscription]