Lumber price drop?The construction industry could see a decrease in the cost of lumber after a North American Free Trade Agreement North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), accord establishing a free-trade zone in North America; it was signed in 1992 by Canada, Mexico, and the United States and took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. panel decision that may clear the way for the removal of tariffs on the import of Canadian timber. In a strongly worded decision released last week, the NAFTA NAFTA in full North American Free Trade Agreement Trade pact signed by Canada, the U.S., and Mexico in 1992, which took effect in 1994. Inspired by the success of the European Community in reducing trade barriers among its members, NAFTA created the world's panel indicated that it had grown weary of the America's International Trade Commission's attempts to prove that U.S. lumber interests were harmed by competition from their northern neighbor. The panel unanimously concluded that the ITC ITC (Brit) n abbr (= Independent Television Commission) → Fernseh-Aufsichtsgremium ITC n abbr (BRIT) (= Independent Television Commission) → was "simply unwilling to accept this (NAFTA) panel's review" and "has consistently ignored the authority of this panel in an effort to preserve its finding of threat of material injury." And it ordered the ITC "to make a determination consistent with the decision of this panel that the evidence on the record does not support a finding of threat of material injury and to make that determination within 10 days.". If the U.S. can't prove its contention that Canadian lumber shipments threaten the domestic industry, it must remove the duties it imposes on lumber from Canada. The National Association of Home Builders The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is one of the largest trade associations in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the association organizes one of the largest conventions in North America, The International Builders' Show, which draws more than (NAHB NAHB National Association of Home Builders NAHB National Academy of Health and Business (Canada) ) hailed the decision as a victory. "For the third time, NAFTA has unequivocally ruled that Canadian lumber imports present no harm to the domestic industry. We call on the Administration to refrain from any further legal maneuvers or delays and allow this decision to be implemented within 10 days, as ordered by the NAFTA panel. This would rescind the 27 percent levies on Canadian lumber and end the hidden tax imposed on American home For the American mortgage lender, see . The American Home is a center of intercultural exchange located in Vladimir, Russia. The home is designed to model a typical American suburban home and its main focus is the ESL school that provides lessons for Russian students. buyers and renters," said Bobby Rayburn, president of NAHB. With the price of framing lumber now at $473 per 1,000 board feet, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Random Lengths--up more than 40 percent from the beginning of the year and approaching the all-time high of $519 recorded in 1994--Rayburn noted that the NAFTA decision could not have come at a better time. "Rising building material costs, led by lumber, have added $5,000 to $7,000 to the cost of constructing an average new home," he said. "The duties have artificially boosted lumber prices and have helped line the pockets of domestic producers at the expense of U.S. consumers." |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion