NAFTA Backs Canada on U.S. Lumber Duties

The U.S. may have to drop 27% duties on Canadian lumber shipments worth $5.5 billion a year after a trade tribunal said there wasn’t enough evidence to support the penalty.

The U.S. International Trade Commission’s finding that tariffs are needed because Canadian imports push down prices “is not supported by substantial evidence,” a panel of five adjudicators of the North American Free Trade Agreement ruled. The U.S. has 21 days to redo its figures or end the duties.

The lumber ruling is the latest in a series of trade defeats for the Bush administration, which lost World Trade Organization cases on measures aiding steelmakers and exporters.