The Globe and Mail: U.S. House of Representatives kills Byrd amendment

The Globe and Mail

The United States is half way toward scrapping a controversial law that could eventually see the U.S. lumber industry pocket billions of dollars in duties paid by their Canadian rivals.

By a razor-thin 217-215 margin, the U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday to kill the so-called Byrd amendment as part of a broader budget bill.

The World Trade Organization has already declared the law illegal, authorizing Canada and other countries to impose retaliatory duties for every dollar diverted to U.S. companies.