Trade and international market development
The Canadian forest industry is highly dependent on trade. Canada is the world´s largest exporter of forest products, accounting for one-fifth of the global total, and conducting trade with more than 100 countries around the world.
Within the federal government, wood products international trade development activities are undertaken by a number of key departments including Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Industry Canada. NRCan has made a strategic investment in international development through the development and implementation of the Canada Wood Program, a partnership program designed to create export opportunities in emerging and traditional offshore markets.
Tariff and non-tariff trade barriers
Import tariffs on forest products have been progressively reduced during the last few rounds of multilateral trade negotiations. As a result, while Canadian efforts to reduce import tariff rates globally on forest products will continue as a priority under the Doha round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations in many export markets tariffs do not represent the major barrier to trade development. With the decrease in tariff rates has come a marked increased in the use of non-tariff barriers (NTB's), tariff escalation and inconsistent border application of established tariffs, all of which limit market access for forest products.
NTB's are government measures or policies other than tariffs that restrict or distort international trade. Examples which may impact the forest products industry include import quotas, discriminatory government procurement practices, technical and scientific barriers related to plant health, environmental labelling, codes and standards, and recycling content policies.
While tariffs have generally been reduced globally, "tariff escalation", where import tariff rates increase proportionately to manufactured content, is an issue in a number of exports markets. For example, many countries have no or very low tariff rates for raw logs and/or pulp, but significantly higher rates on manufactured wood products such as paper or furniture to protect local value added industries.
Other resources
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) conducts and manages international negotiations as they relate to Canada, and fosters the expansion of Canada's international trade. For information on the role of DFAIT.
DFAIT also provides information on the status and backgound of the Canada-United States dispute over softwood lumber.
The Forestry Section of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible for development of forest policies that prevent the introduction and spread of regulated pests into Canada. The Forestry Program Team, consults closely with Canadian companies, industry associations, federal and provincial government agencies and scientific bodies to maintain and develop export programs for Canadian forestry products.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
