Canada and U.S. agree to extend softwood lumber agreement for two years

 The Canadian Trade Minister, Ed Fast, announced that a softwood lumber agreement between the U.S. and  Canada will be extended for another two years. The agreement settled a long running dispute between the two countries. Both countries decided that extending the current seven year agreement would be preferable to further negotiations.
  The agreement was due to expire in 2013 but will now run until 2015. The U.S. had imposed various measures on Canadian softwood lumber imports before the agreement was negotiated. The deal returned several billion in tariffs collected by the U.S.
    Canada's lumber market is more or less in the doldrums since the recession and with a slow construction industry in the U.S. Canada is expanding markets into Asia especially China. The U.S. still disputes some aspects of Canadian trade and there is an ongoing panel that is expected to give its ruling this fall. Fast says he is confident that Canada will win out. For more see this article.