The softwood lumber dispute: Is a solution possible?

Abstract

Canadian exports of softwood lumber to the USA have long been a source of conflict. As the last Softwood Lumber Agreement expired, we examined this issue as a University class project in forest policy. This text presents our analysis of the history of this conflict and the positions of various actors, along with our twenty-year plan for resolving this conflict. Our strategy is in three phases, corresponding to our expectations of future events: five years of conflict and negotiation that we should use to prepare certain changes in our forest sector; ten years under a new agreement during which we can implement these changes; followed by another conflict that we hope Canada will win, resulting in lumber becoming just another traded commodity. Our policy has four key elements: a gradual transition to market-price systems for 55% of public forest lumber volume; an expansion of value-added transformation and diversification of products; a reduction of softwood lumber production; and, a coordination role for the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. We do not believe that our proposition is perfect, but we consider that it offers an option for breaking out of the box that characterises this conflict.