COFI Foresees Earliest Settlement to Softwood Lumber Dispute

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Council of Forest Industries (COFI) expressed the hope that the prolonged softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada might come to an end under the newly elected President of the U.S.

According to Susan Yurkowich, President, COFI, forest products continue to remain as a very desirable commodity. She reiterated that the body continues to believe that the U.S. would remain as one of the most important trading partners of Canada.

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The Council noted that the demand for softwood lumber products from the B.C. region by the American consumers have been significantly strong over the spring. It called upon the new U.S. administration to recognize the importance of the North American market place and the key role played by the B.C marketplace. The strong demand for B.C. lumber products in the U.S. market is mainly on account of the inability of the U.S. domestic industry to meet the rising demand from gradually rebounding construction sector.

COFI remains optimistic that the incoming Biden-Harris administration in the U.S. would do the needful to improve the trade relations between the two countries. It hoped that the new administration presents a new opportunity to resolve the long-standing softwood lumber trade dispute between the neighbouring nations.