Canada and U.S softwood Lumber Dispute

After exporting the lumber from Canada and U.S back and forth for many years the government finally put a tariff on the softwood lumber from Canada. For a long time people have said that the Canadian Government Softwood lumber industry was being unfairly subsidized by the government. 

British Columbia was especially hit hard by this new tariff because they are the largest lumber-exporting province. After all of the North American Free Trade Agreement in favor of Canada, the Americans were continuing to bring in the tariffs. The Americans plan was basically to bring new rulings by NAFTA and launch new claims through the World Trade Organization.  Sometime in August 2005 the World Trade Organization ruled in favor of the Americans claim that it's lumber industry was basically going down hill because of unfair subsidizing from the Canadian Softwood Lumber exports, and Canada appealed the ruling. 

About a year later the American and Canadian negotiators came up with a new idea. It was that the Americans would lift it's 10 % duty and refund it for 80% of more than$5 billion collected from Companies over the past few years. In return the Canadians would give back 34%  of the American market, and also collect a tax that would stop companies from exceeding the quota. 

In the end the American lumber industry would keep $1 billion in duties taken away from the Canadian companies since 2002. 

The Expansion of Economic Globalization

Gross Domestic Product- The total market value of all goods and services produced in one country in about 1 year

The World Trade Organization- An international agency that encourages trade between nations

Tariff-  a tax that is imposed on a product when that item is imported into a country

Subsidy- Financial aid given by the government to an individual or a group

The Group of Eight- It is a group of eight leading industrialized nations, which are, Canada, France, Germany, ITaly, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, and the U.S.A. They meet to discuss economic policies. 

La Francophonie- a French-speaking person, especially in a region where two or more languages are spoken

Transnational Corporations-  a multinational corporations that operate in more than one country

Economic Globalization

EXCHANGE RATE: It is a price where the currency of one country can be exchanged for another country's currency

WORLD BANK: It's an organization whose focus is on a foreign exchange reserves and balances a trade

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND: It was set up to lower stuff like trade barriers between countries and to somewhat stabalize currencies by monitoring the foreign exchange systems. 

FREE MARKET ECONOMY: Is where decisions are made by individuals or organization seeking their own advantage. 

FREE TRADE: Interchange of goods and services

NAFTA

Who: It is the North American Free Trade Agreement

What: NAFTA created the largest free trade area in the world. This trade agreement was between the U.S.A, Canada, and Mexico. It was designed to bring down tariffs. 

 

Where: It was in Canada, U.S.A and Mexico

When: January 1 1994

Why: To eliminate all taxes paid on trading goods between these 3 countries