Softwood Lumber Dispute

International trade plays an important role in Canada¡¦s economy. Trade accounts for a higher proportion of Canada¡¦s GNP than it does for many of the other developed countries of the world. Canada is undoubtedly United State¡¦s largest trading partner. On January 1, 1989, Canada and the United States signed the Canadian-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. This reflects a new Canadian vision on how to manage its economy and ensure prosperity. FTA can be seen as a formal recognition of the benefits of globalization and an important but not dramatic commitment to continue policies based on the premise that open international markets leads to a more efficient and productive allocation of resources than the mercantilist alternative. The major objective of Canada was to provide relief from unilateral U.S trade restrictions where a binational panel would solve disputes between the two countries. The second aim was to expose Canada to greater competition from U.S companies and the third object...