A pattern of victory

Canada has won yet another round of softwood litigation, this time before a WTO appeal court on the question of whether the U.S. can ignore sales above Canada's domestic prices in calculating duties:

A WTO appeal panel has overturned an earlier ruling that upheld the U.S. Commerce Department's right to use a method called zeroing in determining anti-dumping duties levied on Canadian lumber imports.

In simple terms, zeroing tosses out cross-border lumber sales above Canadian domestic prices, which Canada argues artificially inflates the anti-dumping duty the Americans can impose.

Canada won its argument initially but the WTO sided with the Americans in an appeal last May.

Now the world body has reversed itself and ruled the practice of zeroing illegal.

Needless to say, the ruling should only highlight the fact that following through with litigation continues to hold the potential for far better results for Canada's industry than accepting Harper's capitulation. And the downside is at worst comparable considering the degree to which Harper's giveaway would shackle Canadian policymakers looking to support the industry in the future. The decision is between continuing with a winning strategy or unnecessarily conceding defeat - and for now it looks like Canada's producers will end up making the right choice.