Canadian Provinces Split on U.S. Proposal
- Share via
British Columbia is open to using a U.S. proposal as the basis for settling a dispute over $6 billion a year in Canadian softwood-lumber exports, an official said, straining the country’s common front in talks with the Bush administration.
Mike de Jong, forestry minister for Canada’s biggest lumber- producing province, said there is “some good stuff” in a plan submitted two weeks ago by U.S. Commerce Undersecretary Grant Aldonas. The draft calls on provinces to auction off logging rights on government land instead of unilaterally setting the price, a practice U.S. producers say leads to subsidized costs.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
