US trade representative starts NAFTA inquiry into subsidies for Port Hawkesbury Paper
October 4th, 2012 | Posted in Financial News | 1 comment »
A trade representative in the United States has started a NAFTA inquiry to determine if improper subsidies were given to Port Hawkesbury Paper.
The Nova Scotia government provided the new owners with a $124.5 million aid package and spent an additional $36.8 million to keep the mill hot idled until a sale agreement could be reached.
Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative, plans to request information from the Canadian and Nova Scotian governments to verify details of the assistance given to the mill.
Kirk was prompted by Maine’s Congressman Mike Michaud who is concerned about job losses in Maine.
The closest U.S. supercalendered mill to the Cape Breton Island mill is UPM’s mill in Madison, Maine. The mill produces the same grade of supercalendered mill as Port Hawkesbury Paper. It employs about 240 people and produces 220,000 tons a year.
“We need to get to the bottom of this deal to ensure that no current trade laws have been violated,” said Michaud. “I greatly appreciate Ambassador Kirk’s commitment to investigate this matter. This deal could have a significant impact on our paper mills and the critical jobs and small businesses they support.”
The U.S. will investigate to see if the deal is compliant with Canada’s commitments under the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization.
The U.S. plans to also raise the issue later this month at meetings of the World Trade Organization’s Committee on Subsidies.
Separate from any formal federal investigation, U.S. paper manufacturers could petition the U.S. International Trade Commission to impose tariffs on the Canadian paper imports, as some companies successfully did in 2010 in regards to cheap paper imports from China and Indonesia.
Read more:
U.S. launches trade inquiry into aid for Cape Breton paper mill (The Globe and Mail)
U.S. to investigate subsidies to Cape Breton mill (CBC)
U.S. trade ambassador to investigate Canadian paper deal (Morning Sentinel)
US to investigate Nova Scotia paper mill deal for ‘possible subsidies’ (Bangor Daily News)
Michaud praises commitment to act and quick response to his request (Mike Michaud)
Related Posts
- Acadian Timber Corp reports net income of $4.3 million in first quarter, 2012
- Nova Scotia announces $124.5 million financial package for Port Hawkesbury Paper
- Richmond County is trying to stop Port Hawkesbury Paper from paying less taxes
- Port Hawkesbury Paper court decisions today
- Court approves spending $2 million to quickly restart Port Hawkesbury Paper mill
- Canada Revenue Agency rejects Pacific West Commercial Corp's tax deal
- Let's look more at the $1 billion tax loss that is involved in the Port Hawkesbury Paper deal
- Another blow against Pacific West Commercial Corp.
It is hard to beleive, and this could really happen, that the United States has looked at all this shady shit Dexter pulled off to appease another Canadian company, who by the way is just a subsidiary of China, and under NAFTA could pose such penalties to Pacific that they would be forced to pack it in up there faster then anyone ever could of imagined WITH the SO-CALLED NS GOVT forgiveable loans that we’d all get back in 12 years of this company running here…..lafffs!. If our own country would monitor this shady kind of shit like foreign countries do then we wouldn’t be in this mess all the time. There is no way that the USA will take product in from government sponsored corporations now….well they never have really when it comes to free trade.
I just thought of something….Maybe Dexter will scam up a side agreement such that the taxpayers will pay any penalties…..when will this shit circle ever end?