Seeing the forest for the trees: An examination of the Canadian/United States softwood lumber dispute and the impact of dispute resolution procedures.

摘要

The purpose of this research is to explore an ongoing trade dispute between the United States and Canada to determine how this trade conflict has been affected by the creation of the dispute settlement systems that are apart of the Canadian-American free trade agreement (FTA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Of particular interest is the degree to which the smaller party (Canada) in an asymmetrical trade relationship benefits from international dispute settlement procedures. Based on primary source analysis, this research concludes that although the arbitration systems contained within the dispute settlement systems examined contain a degree of impartiality that allows for a fair determination of free trade rule violation to explain the softwood lumber disputes' longevity, one needs to focus on what occurs once a member is found to be in violation. Thus, although dispute settlement procedures have attempted to make free trade fair trade the reality is that retaliatory measures, in some cases, fail in deterring unfair trade practices. Thus, it is this end stage of the dispute resolution process that needs to be reexamined if the softwood lumber dispute is to be resolved.