In a stunning "11^th Hour" announcement yesterday, the Canadian government issued Export and Import Permits Act Notice 132 – "Monitoring Softwood Lumber Exports to the United States", putting softwood lumber on an Export Controls List, meaning that export permits will continue to be required until further notice. In a bizarre twist to the methodology allowed under the SLA permit program, the EICB will now require that permits be obtained PRIOR to export. Strenuous arguments on our part with the powers that be in Ottawa could not dissuade them. There will be numerous glitches and costly difficulties inherent with this mandate. Matching with the U.S. entry number, routing changes impacting port of entry, over-weights, close proximity of the exporter to the border resulting in dates differing on permit as opposed to the actual date of export – just to name a few. This program will be more costly to manage

Although paragraph 6.5 of their Notice states that permits will be required prior to the expected date of departure, Ottawa has shared with us that because their system will not be in place to accept applications until Monday, at the very earliest – they will allow a grace period (no EICB penalties) for exports crossing Sunday through the first part of next week. We, however, advise the immediate faxing of your export documents to your permit filer for any shipments expected to cross after midnight EST March 31^st. Your filer will make application and provide you with your permit number. This number is not required to be on your documents at the time of export, only proven by date obtained, as evidenced on the actual permit and compared with the U.S. entry – subject to audit, that the exporter was in compliance with this provision.

Even though we offered to continue our program of providing the U.S. entry number along with the other necessary export data to the permit filer, as we did throughout the SLA - if Ottawa would revise their Notice to allow securing of the permit after export, Ottawa was adamant that because of the time lapses sometimes involved, it did not coincide with their objective. Your normal process, until further notice, will now entail your providing your export data to your permit filer prior to export. They will obtain your permit number, providing it to you along with their invoice. We will effect your U.S. entries in the same manner as before and will provide your entry numbers along with our invoice. You, as the exporter, must match and retain these records for potential Canadian audit purposes.

Because of their position, until further notice, we now must advise continuing to provide all the same EICB data on your pro-forma invoices as before - with the minor exception of the fee base.