MONTREAL — Tembec CEO James Lopez signalled that his company could be open to quotas on lumber exports to the U.S., the Canadian Press reports. In a departure from the stance of many competitors Lopez suggested that, although no restrictions should be necessary, the company “could live with a quota system” as an alternative to duties, in order to reach a compromise with the U.S. Lumber Coalition.
Lopez believes the Coalition would prefer a negotiated solution, but acknowledged that “if the U.S. is overly ambitious on the reduction in the Canadian market share … it would be better to litigate than negotiate.” The Quebec government is opposed to any duties or quotas, while the B.C. Lumber Trade Council is opposed to a hard quota but is open to discussing a system that is flexible to market conditions. Tembec posted a Q1 loss of $0.09 per share but saw sales rise to $370 million, from $354 million last year.
