seize the assets of the lumber companies.

i don't see how that would help the cause nan. the lumber companies are as dead set against the tarrifs as the canadian gov't is. what we could do though is stop exports of all raw logs from canada as there is a hell of a lot of logs going out to be cut to lumber in american mills. strangely they are not tarrifed despite being cut down at our "subsidized" rate just like the lumber that goes south. could it be yet another case of free enterprise disguised as blatant protectionism perchance. i've read that the tarrifs added a thousand bucks to the cost of framing a house in the states on average. seems the yellow pine in the south isn't suitable for framing so the builders are still getting canadian wood in large quantities. my own inclination would be to tax exported natural gas to say 10% more than what the tarrif is costing us and let them play the same game of unending appeals. i'd kill raw log exports for good though just as a reminder we don't like getting dorked about. another point is that if we are going to be subjected to arbitrary american trade actions anyhow there is absolutely no point in this nafta deal from our pov. if we withdrew it wouldn't have much effect on our trade with the US and would free us from considering the US part of canada for energy supply purposes. it would also be a pretty pointed message to those considering free trade deals with the US about how well those work for anyone but the US.

I think finding ways to squeeze american companies might be more success than going after washington. They are imposing various protections at the behest of companies, so Ottowa is just another voice in the crowd, plus pro-protectionist legislators can fire back with "anti-US", "canadian protectionism" and "ultra-left" rhetoric. Corporations in the US don't have a favorable picture right now, punish them for showing bad corporate citizenship and being monopolistic. People will buy that argument.

the companies pushing the lumber tarrifs are based in the south and east of the US and don't have operations here in canada for us to punish i'm afraid nan. short of siccing the earth firsters on them there isn't much we can really do. well i guess we could learn to "use" congress the way americans do. we foolish mortals keep assuming that when we sign a treaty with the us that it will be abided by. you'd think we'd learn eventually though wouldn't you.

Can we hold our urinium export as a leverage? Maybe it's just too tough. Don't forget there is a salmon dispute as well.

"well i guess we could learn to "use" congress the way americans do." You should, the EU, China and few others have learned, just gotta pony up enough money to the right lobbyist. "short of siccing the earth firsters on them there isn't much we can really do" Halt shipments. I'm replying to you seperately because I'm anticipating something useless and inflamatory from the Canadian "on watch" in the next post

"well i guess we could learn to "use" congress the way americans do." You should, the EU, China and few others have learned, just gotta pony up enough money to the right lobbyist. "short of siccing the earth firsters on them there isn't much we can really do" Halt shipments. I'm replying to you seperately because I'm anticipating something useless and inflamatory from the Canadian "on watch" in the next post

well, I'm pleasantly disappointed. Perhaps the best way to beat US tariffs is to slap tariffs on stuff the US sends north. Works for the EU everytime.

you mean the salmon dispute where the americans in alaska figure they are entitle to catch bc salmon as there are essentially no alaskan salmon runs? the one where the washington and oregon guys that largely wiped out their salmon runs with the hydro dams bitch cause they are only allowed to come up and catch half the fraser river salmon? uranium they can get from the aussies who are sitting on a vast chunk of the world's known reserves. i think they have fairly good reserves themselves but i couldn't swear to that.

well it's a delicate thing in that if the americans wake up and realize just how big a surplus we run with them every year they are likely to get quite upset. still i wish the gov't would grow a set and stand up to the yanks once in a while instead of being reasonable all the time. my experience with americans especially east coasters is that they interpret polite as weak.