Now that a trade agreement with the U.S. is in place, Canada's lumber producers face a perplexing question: what to do with too much money?
The agreeement calls for the return of billions of dollars in duties on imported Canadian lumber that the U.S. collected since 2002. Canfor, West Fraser and Interfor are in line to receive about C$550 million, C$285 million and C$70 million, respectively. Some companies reportedly haven't decided whether the money should fund expansion into the U.S., special dividends, or just paying down debt
The fact that there's a question of what to do with the windfall, which could shore up otherwise troubled companies operating in a depressed market for lumber, is another sign of how distorted the trade agreement is.