[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 22 (Thursday, March 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          FRIENDS IN NAME ONLY

  (Mrs. BENTLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BENTLEY. Mr. Speaker, Canada may be our good northern neighbor, 
but it is not friendly in trade matters. The Journal of Commerce 
reports that last year, under the Canadian Free-Trade Agreement [CFTA], 
a five member dispute resolution panel overturned a 6.5 percent duty 
placed by the United States on imports of Canadian softwood lumber.
  The tariff was to offset Canadian subsidies which had pushed down 
lumber prices in the United States. American lumber officials charged 
that two Canadian panel members had ties to both the Canadian lumber 
industry and Canadian Government. This is not the first time the United 
States has charged a conflict of interest on the dispute panels.
  Trade negotiators are concerned that the CFTA panel reveals a 
critical flaw in the dispute panel system. This decision exposes the 
fact that special interests can influence the panels and harm U.S. 
interests. Remember CFTA panels, NAFTA panels and GATT panels all 
operate the same. We should say no to this system when we debate GATT, 
the granddaddy of the agreements.

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