The threat of heavy penalty duties being imposed by the United States on Canadian potash in yet another trade dispute between the two countries has been averted.
Under a new agreement negotiated between Ottawa and Washington, all eight Canadian potash producers exporting into the U.S. market have agreed to stop selling at prices Washington authorities found in a preliminary ruling last summer to be less than fair value. It doesn’t set specific prices. Rather, it’s simply an agreement not to sell in the U.S. market at prices deemed unfairly low by U.S. authorities. This should put the current dispute to rest for five years unless violated by Canadian exporters.
The new deal won’t necessarily spell higher potash prices because the Saskatchewan producers had already bumped their prices by some $35 to $100 a tonne in response to that preliminary ruling.
The Canadian potash companies are apparently quite happy with the agreement, The Northern Miner gathers. (For more, see editorial Page 4.)
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