The United States Department of Commerce has cut back softwood lumber duties for most Canadian producers, but not for Resolute Forest Products.
Although Resolute's duty is still one of the lowest, the company remains dissatisfied.
In an announcement in Washington on Nov. 2, American government officials revealed that the bulk of Canadian producers will pay a combined countervailing and anti-dumping rate of 20.83 per cent, down from the preliminary duty of 26.75 per cent imposed earlier this year.
For Resolute, the new rate is 17.9 per cent, a marginal increase from the preliminary figure of 17.41 per cent.
In a statement, the company said it's disappointed with the final determination.
It said it remains convinced that lumber from Ontario and Québec mills should have free, unencumbered access to the U.S. marketplace, because it is not subsidized.
The statement added that "the politics of managed softwood lumber trade only serves to benefit large timber barons in the U.S. while adversely impacting Canadian manufacturers, U.S. consumers and millions of hard-working Americans in the housing sector".
The Department of Commerce has applied the highest duties to West Fraser Timber of B.C., at 23.7 per cent, a considerable drop from the preliminary rate of 30.88 per cent.
