Testifying before the office of the U. S. Trade Representative in Washington, D.C. the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) CEO Jerry Howard urged the federal government to avoid involving the U.S.-Canada softwood lumber accord in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement (TPP) talks. “Reopening the U.S.-Canada softwood lumber agreement would jeopardize the successful negotiation of a TPP trade agreement, bogging down the talks with a century old dispute between the United States and Canada on softwood lumber that has yet to achieve a final resolution,” said Howard. “Softwood lumber issues are too important to get lost in the context of a multinational trade negotiation and must be addressed by the U.S. and Canada in a bilateral forum.” Noting lumber is the most important and most costly ingredient in home building, Howard said artificial trade barriers could have negative consequences on the recovery of the housing market. As MHProNews has learned, the current U.S.-Canadian lumber accord does not expire until 2015.
