Softwood Lumber in the Farm Bill

You would have thought that after complaining for over 20 years about disguised Canadian subsidies (in the form of below market stumping fees) to its softwood lumber industry, the U.S. would think twice before giving new support to its own softwood producers.

Think again...

I was watching Bloomberg three nights ago and saw it reported that there was a more favorable depreciation schedule for the softwood industry in the 2008 Farm Bill. I have not been able to verify this yet, but if included, it certainly shows bad faith on the part of the U.S.

This is in addition to the new reporting requirements included for U.S. lumber importers in the Softwood Lumber Act of 2008. Thanks to Akin Gump.