Bring On The Anschluss

TheMotherOfAllDocumentDumps
HarmonizationVille

Apparently, the MP for Canforcouver Kingsway has made a 'deal':

OTTAWA (CP) - Canada and the United States inked a final agreement on trade in softwood lumber, felling the biggest trade irritant between the two countries in advance of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's imminent visit to Washington.

But as observers of the decades-old dispute could have predicted, there's a catch in the seven-year deal. U.S. negotiators insisted at the eleventh hour on an escape clause.

After 23 months, either party can serve notice that it wants out - and can walk away just 13 months later.

Trade Minister David Emerson said it would be highly unlikely for an agreement of such magnitude to be quashed.

"This is a nation-to-nation agreement, it's a treaty," Emerson said in a teleconference call from Geneva.

"The likelihood of this kind of agreement being terminated by a country is extremely remote... for countries to terminate an agreement entered into in good faith is a very, very unusual step."

Sure thing Mr. Emerson. I mean, it's not like they've never broken a promise before, right?

And besides, a lot of hay can be made by the Canfors of the world in two years, right?

Unless, of course prices fall.....

The agreement allows the U.S. to keep about $1 billion of the $5 billion collected in penalties on Canadian softwood since 2002, and limits shipments south of the border if American lumber prices begin to fall.

Yup, always great to lock in to something that only works for the good times, because when things go bad we can always up the raw log shipments and kiss those jobs good-bye, right (again)?

But, hang on just a second, is there actually a deal here?

Perhaps we need to listen to Mr. Emerson one more time (sorry about that), who, rumour has it, has also just been appointed the Minister Responsible For Giving Our Billions To Boeing:

"It's going to take us a little bit of time to tidy up more of the legal text and put in place some of the implementation."

"Normally, Parliament would be recalled for a national-emergency type of situation, and while this is certainly an inconvenience to have it done in late September, we believe that's an appropriate timeframe in which to get it done," Emerson said.


And what says our own British Columbia Minister of Forests and Cowboy Country, Rich Coleman:

"There are still some issues outstanding with regards to some other, smaller matters that I think we'll work out over the ensuring months before it becomes a final agreement, probably around the end of September," Coleman said.

Still outstanding issues? What? And this from the deal-friendly SS Gordon Campbell government?

Hmmmmm......is that a whirlitzer I hear spinning in the shrubbery?

Maybe we should listen hard to see if we can hear the spanner in the works.

Oh, yes, here it is:

The White House said (President) Bush "appreciates Prime Minister Harper's strong leadership on this issue."

Then again, maybe we shouldn't needlessly worry ourselves on the Canada Day Weekend.

After all, doesn't Mr. Bush say things like that to all the puppets?

And 139 years was a pretty long run anyway.


_____
Just a thought, but it will be worth watching to see if this is handled in the classical Rovian 'Get-Out-Front-And-Flog-It' way on all the (stillsortof) Canadian Sunday shows.

.