(170819) -- TORONTO (CANADA), Aug. 19, 2017 (Xinhua) -- A worker processes a board at a lumber manufacturer of Murray Brothers Lumber Company in Ontario, Canada, on Aug. 16, 2017. The United States opened the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations Wednesday with a declaration that it wants major changes to the agreement that shifts the balance of trade. However, Canadian business owners are hoping U.S. negotiators will be receptive to maintaining, if not improving, the current flow of goods and workers across the border. Feuds over softwood lumber have been a recurring part of Canada-U.S. relations since the 1980s. Their root cause is U.S. industry's contention that Canada unfairly subsidizes its lumber by providing cheap access to public land. It's led to a cycle of American punitive action, followed by trade cases mostly won by Canada, and then a compromise settlement. The fifth and most recent lumber war was set off on April 24 this year when U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the U.S. would impose new anti-subsidy duties on Canadian softwood. The initial duties added up to about 20 per cent, but a second wave of anti-dumping duties in late June brought that total to about 27 per cent. (Xinhua/Li Haitao)
