The North American Free Trade Agreement.turns:J0 in January, The Terrace. Standard’s Jeff Nagel and eight ather. Canadian reporters at- tended i wade policy briefings in Ot- “ tawa and Washington D.C. last : month onthe effects of NAFTA. 0. Goto the Standard’s web site at - www, terracestandard.com to find all Nagel’s stories from that trip, as ~ well as some stories from other re- “> porters and a photo gallery. - Banon raw log exports ‘illegal’ HE PROVINCIAL government may not be able to cut off all raw log exports to the U.S. even if Victoria de- cides that’s a goad idea, Trade experts in Ottawa say “the province would be violating . - Canada’s obligations under the North American Free Trade . Agreement, "The province is studying ways “to. tighten exports, The forests “minister has said options include ‘an-increased export tax or even an outright ban. In U.S. eyes, logs that are trap- -ped in B.C, by export controls “amount to-yet another way the . province artificially lowers the cost-of logs to subsidize B.C, lum- ber producers. ». ‘Tightening existing rules there- ‘fore risks further inflaming. the softwood lumber dispule. And an outright ban on log ex- : ports: is impossible, according to ’ Bill Dymond, who was one of Ca- “nada’s advisors at the NAFTA ne- --potiating table. "You can’t do it,” says Dy- mond, executive director of Car- leton University's Centre for Trade Policy and Law. “That would be a clear violation of the ‘WTO-and the NAFTA.” “You ‘can clobber the Japanese log. buyers to your heart's content. _ o But you couldn’t touch the Ameri- cans: You'd be in violation,” yEven: before NAFTA was signed nearly {0 years ago, log -..- export restrictions were touchy. They: were technically permit- ted under the original 1989 Cana- .da-U.S.. free trade agreement, But even with that allowance, the U.S. used our log export restrictions as “An excuse to slap countervailing _duties on B.C. lumber. “. It’s easy to understand the mo- : tives of those who want to block | From front THE CREED Forest Products yard next to the Kalum River is one local spol where logs ara sorted by grade for sale to both domestic and foreign buyers. JEFF NAGEL PHOTO MICHAEL HART and Bill Dymond of the Centre For Trade Policy and Law address reporters in Ottawa. JEFF NAGEL PHOTO NAFTA @ 10 Second in a series marking 10 years of North American free trade + A special report by Jeff Nagel the flow of logs south. Critics see Taw log’exports as a drain of logs and jobs to the U.S. While mills here are crippled and closing, American ones are ex- panding, fed by B.C. logs. Fair is fair, the export critics say. If. the Americans want to use 27 per cent tariffs to keep our lumber out of the U.S., we should add our own hefty. tax to log ex-. ports and price raw logs out of ex-: istence south of the barder, “It would be the start of trying to control the issue a: little bit,” says [WA local 2171 president ‘Darrel Wong. °°” “This government has allowed a tremendous. volume of logs to leave B.C. from Crown lands,” But Canada has already lost si-. milar fights under NAFTA. In one case, regulators struck down a Canadian-imposed ban on the export of hazardous waste to ‘the U.S. — put in place to ‘aid an_ Alberta. waste incinerator that was losing business to an Ohio-based competitor. ain S$ not unusual for govern- ments to try to restrict the export of raw materials to protect pro- cessing jobs al home. Mexico wants to ban the bulk export of its tequila to the U.S. and is seeking approval for a ban from NAFTA regulators, It’s not so different from raw logs. At stake is whether Mexicans or Americans get the jobs bottling the tequila, A pure protectionisl case would be thrown out, however, so the Mexicans are arguing the bulk te- quila is getting watered down or blended on the way to U.S, bot- tlers, and therefore a ban on butk exports is needed to protect qual- ity. Trade expert Dymond says. agreeing to give up those sorts of restrictions are part of the price of securing free trade agreements and the broader economic gains they deliver. “Under NAFTA, we have said we will not do this,” he said. “Has that constrained your sovereignty? You're damned right it has.” Peter. Pearse, B.C.’s leading re- source policy specialist and au- thor of a major study. on the plight i of the coastal forest industry, says the solution does not rest in find- . ing. ways to force B .C. logs to stay ‘in BC: 4 “The: question is how. can we make British Columbia producers'. able to pay as much or more for logs than foreigners,” Pearse said, Until the ailing coastal industry is fixed, there’s little short term alternative to exports. , And he says it hasn't been hard to prove the logs aren’t needed by B.C. mills. “We’ ve got surplus logs and - companies:-have not been cutting their full allocation,” Pearse said. “It's not as if-these logs would still be used by local mills,” . ° Critics say it’s time to cut off log flow to U.S. “Every log they ship only delays a ‘resolu- . tion to the softwood dispute, and creates un- “employment and mill closures,” Delaney said. “Either they haven’t got the guts to call the Americans’ bluff, or they are doing this deli- berately to appease their big American suppor- who want to