Minister Highlights Shipbuilding, Border Clearance and Softwood Lumber

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT--Minister Highlights Shipbuilding, Border Clearance and Softwood Lumber

Economic Development Minister Cecil Clarke today called on the federal government to conclude its consultations with Canada's shipbuilding industry and the provinces over the possible removal of the 25 per cent import tariff on foreign-built vessels.

Atlantic Canada's trade ministers held a private meeting with federal International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew on a proposed free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association. The meeting took place immediately prior to the federal-provincial-territorial trade ministers' meeting in Montreal today, Feb. 7.

"To reach a compromise satisfactory to the shipbuilding industry and the Atlantic provinces, there has to be additional discussion about the industry's financial options under the federal government's policy for the Shipbuilding and Industrial Marine Sector announced in June 2000," said Mr. Clarke.

Mr. Pettigrew met with Atlantic Canada's trade ministers to update them on the status of the negotiations around the proposed European Free Trade Agreement, which the federal government suspended in January 2002, as a result of pressure from industry and provincial governments. Although a mandate remains to conclude the negotiations, no date has been set for the talks to resume. The shipbuilding industry is concerned about the formidable competition posed by the Norwegians in the burgeoning offshore oil and gas sector.

Topics discussed at today's full provincial-territorial-federal ministers' meeting included softwood lumber, US-Canada border security and clearance. In keeping with the region's historically exempt status, Atlantic ministers reiterated their joint position that there be no duties, no quotas or no export taxes affecting Atlantic Canada's lumber industry.

"Any resolution of the softwood lumber dispute must take into account both big and small mills," said Mr. Clarke. The minister welcomed Mr. Pettigrew's determination to eliminate anti-dumping duties.

Mr. Clarke also suggested a regional pilot program to help small truckers and fish exporters ship their product over the Canada-US border under the United States Homeland Security Act and other measures, as a way of avoiding potential hardship resulting from rapidly changing and complex import regulations.