{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.daines.senate.gov/news/press-releases/daines-protects-montana-jobs", "Daines Protects Montana Jobs", "2017-11-02", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "MT", "Steve Daines", "D000618", "www.daines.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.02.17\n\t\t\t Daines Protects Montana Jobs \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tLevels the playing field for Montana Lumber Mills\r\nU.S. SENATE\u00a0\u2014 U.S. Senator Steve Daines today protected Montana jobs by working with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to levy a tariff on Canadian lumber to level the playing field for Montana lumber mills.\u00a0\r\n\u201cToday\u2019s announcement is putting America first and protecting the hardworking families who rely on good-paying lumber jobs,\u201d\u00a0Daines stated.\u00a0\u201cWe are leveling the playing field so that the Canadians have to play by the same set of rules that Montanans do.\u201d\u00a0\r\nEarlier this week, Daines pressed Secretary Ross to finalize these tariffs as quickly as possible during a Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing. \u00a0Daines\u2019 exchange with Secretary Ross can be found\u00a0HERE.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nThe Commerce Department determined that exporters from Canada have sold softwood lumber the United States at 3.20 percent to 8.89 percent less than fair value.\u00a0 Commerce also determined that Canada is providing unfair subsidies to its producers of softwood lumber at rates from 3.34 percent to 18.19 percent.\u00a0\r\nA timeline of Daines\u2019 efforts to renegotiate a new Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) for Montana\u2019s sawmills is below:\u00a0\u00a0\r\nApril 27, 2006:\u00a0SLA signed \u2013 seven year agreement that went into force on October 12, 2006.\r\nJanuary 23, 2012:\u00a0SLA extended until October 12, 2015.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nSeptember 17, 2015:\u00a0Daines sent a letter to U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell urging him to provide much needed certainty for Montana sawmills facing the expiration of the SLA.\u00a0\r\nOctober 12, 2015:\u00a0Expiration of the SLA.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nOctober 21, 2015:\u00a0Daines met with Canadian Ambassador Gary Doer to urge him to begin negotiating a new SLA.\u00a0\r\nDecember 3, 2015:\u00a0Daines wrote newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to emphasize Montana priorities and ensure continued economic growth on both sides of the northern border.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nFebruary 22, 2016:\u00a0In advance of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau\u2019s first state visit to Washington, D.C., Daines urged the USTR to prioritize Montana issues in discussions with Canada.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nJune 23, 2016:\u00a0Daines spoke to United States Trade Representative Ambassador Froman regarding SLA in advance of President Obama and PM Trudeau meeting in Ottawa.\u00a0\r\nJuly 19, 2016:\u00a0In a letter to U.S. Trade Ambassador Michael Froman, Daines pushed for a new SLA with Canada.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nSeptember 13, 2016:\u00a0Daines met with Gitane De Silva, Alberta\u2019s new Senior Representative to the United States to discuss the expiring SLA.\u00a0\r\nOctober 13, 2016:\u00a0Daines issued a statement at midnight at the expiration of the moratorium on trade litigation related to the SLA.\u00a0\r\nOctober 21, 2016:\u00a0Daines joined 26 Senators in urging President Obama to prioritize ongoing negotiations to obtain a new softwood lumber trade agreement with Canada.\r\nDecember 6, 2016:\u00a0Daines\u00a0urged then President-elect Trump to prioritize the issue of Canada subsidizing its lumber production to the detriment of Montana lumber mills and ensure that Montana producers have access to a level-playing field in the international marketplace.\r\nFebruary 27, 2017:\u00a0Daines wrote to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross urging him to utilize appropriate trade remedies should Canada continue to unfairly subsidize its softwood lumber.\u00a0\r\nMarch 9, 2017:\u00a0Daines wrote to Robert Lighthizer, President Trump\u2019s nominee for United States Trade Representative that if they are unable to establish a fair and effective softwood lumber agreement with Canada, Daines urged him to \u201cplease support and utilize appropriate trade remedies to the greatest extent possible.\u201d\u00a0\r\nApril 25, 2017:\u00a0Daines praised Trump\u2019s action to levy a 20 percent import tax on unfairly subsidized Canadian softwood lumber.\u00a0\r\nSeptember 12, 2017:\u00a0Daines testified in front of the International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding the importance of leveling the playing field for Montana lumber mills and wood products to create more good-paying jobs.\r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.daines.senate.gov/news/press-releases/daines-protects-montana-jobs"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.70397206582129, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}