First Nations Saskatchewan Forest Products NAFTA Dispute

FBT represented the Meadow Lake Tribal Council and its forest products company before the NAFTA bi-national panel that adjucated the largest dispute in US/Canadian trade history. The tribe pursued the first challenge under US trade law by a Canadian aboriginal group concerning tribal rights in the context of a trade treaty.  At issue was a 30% duty that the US added to softwood lumber from Canada, which affected all of the tribes’ timber interests coming from public lands. In Canada, tribes have inherent timber rights, and claimed that there was no subsidy by the Canadian Government when they harvested trees on traditional lands.