N.B. premier to make final push in on softwood lumber

New Brunswick’s premier heads to Washington on Tuesday, to meet with a senior member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, in a final push to have his province exempt from hefty duties on softwood lumber exports to the United States.

It’s the second time in two months Gallant will meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to make New Brunswick’s case - ahead of a final determination expected September 7. In June, the U.S. Department of Commerce hit Canada with an additional 6.87 per cent in preliminary average anti-dumping tariffs, leaving the industry facing average duties of about 27 per cent. The decision exempts the other three Atlantic provinces, but New Brunswick - exempt from such tariffs in the past is not.

Gallant said he’ll make the case that exporting softwood lumber creates jobs in his province and lowers the cost of construction for American families.

“I will argue this and other reasons why New Brunswick should continue to have the exclusion we have enjoyed since 1982,” Gallant said Sunday. Former U.S. ambassador David Wilkins, who New Brunswick hired as a special envoy on the softwood trade dispute, will also be part of the meeting.

During his first meeting with Ross, in July, Gallant said he stressed the importance of the trading relationship between the Atlantic provinces and the New England states.

The premier said he used the example of Twin Rivers Paper Co. to demonstrate how the two economies are intertwined. Headquartered in Maine with significant New Brunswick operations, the company operates integrated pulp and paper mills connected by pipelines crossing the St. John River. One pipeline carries pulp from Edmundston, N.B., to the paper plant, while another transports steam between facilities. Wood chips and biomass from Canadian sawmills help generate the steam used to make pulp.