[Ygd2qr8k]

Hi,
I am Canadian, and saw Lou Dobbs last night on CNN, reporting on the softwood lumber dispute with Canada.
I felt the report was very biased and only told a part of the truth.
I was wondering what Americans thought of this report and the NAFTA dispute with Canada?
In his report Lou mentions a WTO ruling against Canada, but completely neglected to ad, that the NAFTA agreement has its own dispute resolution panel, which ruled 3 times that the US was illegally taxing Canadian softwood lumber, and that (According to NAFTA) the US should return the 4 Billion dollars it imposed in tariffs against Canada.
Dobbs made it look like Canada had no grounds for their complaint and that we were just being lousy neighbors.
The report also includes video from more than a year ago, where President Bush sarcastically thanked Canadians for waving with all 5 fingers. (This had nothing to do with the Softwood lumber and was clearly there only to inflame and create resentment towards Canada)
4 Billion dollars to a small country like Canada is a lot of money, more than $1000. for every Canadian.

I am afraid a report like this has enough power to influence many Americans in their views of their Canadian neighbors and worsen already strained relations between old friends.

Were you aware that NAFTA ruled that the US should return the 4 billion?
Do you think Canada is wrong in getting upset after years of repeated rulings and no Action?

I would love to hear your opinions

Thanks

[ANCETPYNCTEXT]

Hi,
I am Canadian, and saw Lou Dobbs last night on CNN, reporting on the softwood lumber dispute with Canada...


Were you aware that NAFTA ruled that the US should return the 4 billion?

Do you know how much the USA owes the United Nations?

That gang in Washington, DC plays hardball. They don't pay up on anything until they decide it's the right time.

So, sorry to say it, but don't hold your breath waiting for pay back.

[affewheillMapew]

Lou Dobbs is an economic protectionist who has heavily opposed NAFTA from the beginning; his reaction is expected.

Considering that the U.S.'s unenviably astronomical trade deficit is no big secret to anyone, I wouldn't be surprised about the NAFTA rulings against such tariffs and taxes.

Should our nation pay back the $4 billion? Yes, of course; otherwise we'd be hypocrites for violating our own trade laws. But considering that a similar dispute with Mexico over sugar has been going on since 1998, I wouldn't hold my breath in anticipation of a quick reimbursement.

Regardless, I'll never stop loving Canada. I can't get mad at a country that's given the world poutine, the Barenaked Ladies, Sarah McLachlan and most of the good comedians on this continent...and all is certainly forgiven re: Tom Green.

And if it's not too much trouble, please burn down the White House again before 2008.

[blogwado]

Well thanks for the positive responses.
I was afraid that CNN's slant, only mentioning the WTO ruling and not the NAFTA ruling could have quite an impact on American's views of Canada.
LOL no ones holding their breath, just wanted to make sure our American buddies didn't think were all Aholes for making an issue of it, as Dobbs made it appear.

BTW: I live in BC,
But Love New York :-)
Spent many blissful days in the Adirondacks as a kid

[NanoKakadze]

I can't get mad at a country that's given the world poutine, the Barenaked Ladies, Sarah McLachlan and most of the good comedians on this continent...and all is certainly forgiven re: Tom Green.

Just be careful how you pronounce poutine in Quebec, a small slip of the tongue and your asking for a lady of the evening :-O

And Tom...., we can only hang our heads in shame

Have a good one

[yK2VgoEI]

^ Fun ??

Exciting, thrilling, jaw-dropping, invigorating -- yep.

But "fun"

[finasteride]

I think Lou Dobbs is usually dead on right. Fighting to secure this country's future, pressing to stop illegal immigration, attempting to hold American companies responsible when they ship profits off shore and jobs oversees might seem like protectionism, but it is exactly what this country needs.

[twinaircant]

I think Lou Dobbs is usually dead on right. Fighting to secure this country's future, pressing to stop illegal immigration, attempting to hold American companies responsible when they ship profits off shore and jobs oversees might seem like protectionism, but it is exactly what this country needs.

In this day and age, however, such a view is astoundingly archaic. The world is more interconnected than it was fifty years ago, and it has come to rely on those interconnections.

[himecthekWiff]

^But, if you take that argument a step further, so are the ideas of "nation", national boundaries, and national interest. It cedes the world to commerce and corporations. I do not support the idea that the world and the world's population are a commodity to be exploited by a controlling elite.