IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/rep/wpaper/2005-03.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Resolving Canada-U.S. Trade Disputes in Agriculture and Forestry: Lessons from Lumber

Author

Listed:
  • Jeffrey Biggs
  • Susanna Laaksonen-Craig
  • Kurt Niquidet
  • G. Cornelis van Kooten

Abstract

Prominent trade disputes between Canada and the U.S. involve agriculture and forestry, with lack of transparency caused by Canadian non-market institutions a source of U.S. objections. Though there has been a recent flurry of activity in the binational dispute resolution panel on Canadian exports of wheat, one of every six panels since 1989 has involved softwood lumber. We examine lessons from the lumber dispute to shed light on U.S. objections to the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). We argue that U.S. lumber lobbyists will continue to use perceived Canadian institutional obscurity to keep pressure on policymakers, while the CWB system enables similar agricultural interests in to agitate for trade sanctions. Traditional strategies such as dispute resolution boards, appeals to the WTO, and bilateral policy reform can only buy Canada time – new strategies are needed if Canada is to maintain sovereignty over its trade institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey Biggs & Susanna Laaksonen-Craig & Kurt Niquidet & G. Cornelis van Kooten, 2005. "Resolving Canada-U.S. Trade Disputes in Agriculture and Forestry: Lessons from Lumber," Working Papers 2005-03, University of Victoria, Department of Economics, Resource Economics and Policy Analysis Research Group.
  • Handle: RePEc:rep:wpaper:2005-03
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://web.uvic.ca/~repa/publications/REPA%20working%20papers/WorkingPaper2005-03.pdf
    File Function: Final version, 2005
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Colin A. Carter & William W. Wilson, 1997. "Emerging differences in state grain trading: Australia and Canada," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 16(2), pages 87-98, May.
    2. Ronald A. Babula & Cathy L. Jabara & John Reeder, 1996. "Role of empirical evidence in US|Canadian dispute on US imports of wheat, wheat flour, and semolina," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(2), pages 183-199.
    3. Steer, Henry B., 1938. "Stumpage Prices of Privately Owned Timber in the United States," Technical Bulletins 166176, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Brian Paddock, 1998. "State trading and international trade negotiations," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 46(4), pages 417-423, December.
    5. Brannman, Lance Eric, 1996. "Potential Competition and Possible Collusion in Forest Service Timber Auctions," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 34(4), pages 730-745, October.
    6. Sen Wang & Tim Bogle & G. Cornelis van Kooten, 2012. "Forestry and the New Institutional Economics," Working Papers 2012-05, University of Victoria, Department of Economics, Resource Economics and Policy Analysis Research Group.
    7. Veeman, M. & Fulton, M. & Larue, B., 1999. "International Trade in Agricultural and Food Products: The Role of State Trading Enterprises," Papers 1999, Gouvernement du Canada - Agriculture Canada.
    8. Johnson, D. Demcey, 1998. "U.S. Perspectives On The Canadian Grain Problem; A Critical Appraisal," Agricultural Economics Miscellaneous Reports 23110, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
    9. Steve McCorriston & Donald MacLaren, 2002. "State Trading, the WTO and GATT Article XVII," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 107-135, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sylvanus Kwaku Afesorgbor & Eugene Beaulieu, 2021. "Role of international politics on agri‐food trade: Evidence from US–Canada bilateral relations," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 69(1), pages 27-35, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. William W. Wilson & Bruce L. Dahl, 2004. "Transparency and Bidding Competition in International Wheat Trade," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 52(1), pages 89-105, March.
    2. Niquidet, Kurt & van Kooten, G. Cornelis, 2004. "Are Log Markets Competitive? Empirical Evidence And Implications For Canada-U.S. Trade In Softwood Lumber," 2004 Annual meeting, August 1-4, Denver, CO 19985, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    3. Wilson, William W. & Dahl, Bruce L., 2004. "The Section 301 Action And Effects Of The Canadian Wheat Board On U.S. Hard Red Spring And Amber Durum Wheat," Proceedings of the 8th Agricultural and Food Policy Systems Information Workshop, 2002: Keeping the Borders Open 16929, Farm Foundation, Agricultural and Food Policy Systems Information Workshops.
    4. Gerard Marty & Raphaele Preget, 2007. "A Socio-economic Analysis of French Public Timber Sales," Working Papers - Cahiers du LEF 2007-03, Laboratoire d'Economie Forestiere, AgroParisTech-INRA.
    5. Watson, Alistair S., 1999. "Grain marketing and National Competition Policy: reform or reaction?," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 43(4), pages 1-27, December.
    6. Lim, Terence & Lo, Andrew W. & Merton, Robert C. & Scholes, Myron S., 2006. "The Derivatives Sourcebook," Foundations and Trends(R) in Finance, now publishers, vol. 1(5–6), pages 365-572, April.
    7. Srabana Gupta, 2001. "The Effect of Bid Rigging on Prices: A Study of the Highway Construction Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 19(4), pages 451-465, December.
    8. Maria Nijnik & Arie Oskam & A. Nijnik, 2005. "Contribution Of Afforestation To Sustainable Land Management In Ukraine," ERSA conference papers ersa05p746, European Regional Science Association.
    9. Johnson, D. Demcey, 1999. "Single-Desk Selling Of Canadian Barley: Price Pooling, Price Discrimination, And Systemic Costs," Agricultural Economics Reports 23251, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
    10. Froese, Marc D., 2010. "Trade Friction, Dispute Settlement and Structural Adjustment, Or, Why Canada-Wheat Doesn’t Matter in North American Trade Relations," Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy, Estey Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, February.
    11. Plato, Gerald E., 2001. "The Soybean Processing Decision: Exercising A Real Option On Processing Margins," Technical Bulletins 33567, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    12. Young, Linda M., 2005. "Export Competition Disciplines in the Doha Round," Trade Issues Papers 14573, International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium.
    13. McCorriston, Steve & MacLaren, Donald, 2005. "Single-desk state trading exporters," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 503-524, June.
    14. Scoppola, Margherita, 2006. "Economies of Scale and Endogenous Market Structures in International Grain Trade," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25322, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Daniel Rondeau & Pascal Courty & Maurice Doyon, 2016. "Simultaneous Allocation of Bundled Goods through Auctions: Assessing the Case for Joint Bidding," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 98(3), pages 838-859.
    16. Yamamoto, Yuki & Takeuchi, Kenji & Shinkuma, Takayoshi, 2014. "Is there a price premium for certified wood? Empirical evidence from log auction data in Japan," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 168-172.
    17. Dong, Fengxia & Marsh, Thomas L. & Stiegert, Kyle W., 2002. "Imperfect Substitutes, Deferred Producer Payment System, And State Trading Enterprises: An Empirical Test Of Leadership In The Global Malting Barley Markets," 2002 Annual Meeting, July 28-31, 2002, Long Beach, California 36625, Western Agricultural Economics Association.
    18. Vlontzos, George N., 2006. "The Role of State Trading Enterprises and Their Impact on Agricultural Development and Economic Growth in Developing Countries," CAFRI: Current Agriculture, Food and Resource Issues, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society, issue 7, pages 1-7, October.
    19. Yoon, Jung-Hyun & Lim, Song Soo, 2013. "Potential trade distortion effects of state trading enterprises under the tariff-rate quota scheme," Economics Discussion Papers 2013-22, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    20. Goodloe, Carol, 2004. "The Canadian Wheat Board: Government Guarantees and Hidden Subsidies?," Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy, Estey Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade, vol. 5(2), pages 1-18.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Q17 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agriculture in International Trade
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry
    • Q27 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Issues in International Trade

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rep:wpaper:2005-03. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: G.C. van Kooten (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/devicca.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.