Bush Embarrassed Again: Canada Says to Fly a Kite

As this story reflects, the hits just keep on coming for Bush.  While you can read more about this incident in the extended text below, here is a summary:

Canada and the U.S. are engaged in a dispute about the $6 billion in softwood lumber Canada ships to the United States for use in home building and remodeling.  The U.S. has imposed duties on Canada, claiming that the wood is subsidized and dumped in the United States.  The two countries filed adverse claims under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization, and a NAFTA ruling issued in August found that Canada is in the right.

Today, Bush spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin about the issue, suggesting that Canada negotiate with the U.S. to "resolve" the issue even though Canada has already won a decision supporting its viewpoint.  Read on below the flop for a transcript of their conversation . . .

(To be read in dramatic fashion, doing your best job of imitating the speaking styles of our hick-sounding, unintellingent President and Canada's smooth, sophisticated and knowledgeable Prime Minister:

Bush: C'mon, Paul, won't you come negotiate with us?  I'll put you up at the ranch in Crawford.  We can clear shrubs while we discuss it!

Martin: George, didn't you receive a copy of the decision under NAFTA, finding that Canada wins this dispute?

Bush: Uh, I try not to read those so-called newspapers . . . you know they do not contain the truth.

Martin: But George, you should have personally received an actual copy of the decision stating that Canada doesn't have be pay your improper duties.  Here, I'll fax you a copy of it.

Bush: Decision?  I don't know about any decision.  But can't we just talk about this?  Here, I'll rehearse it with you.  I say, "Paul, let's talk."  And you say, "George, I'd love to talk about this.  What is it that you want?  I want nothing other than to do your bidding."

Martin:  George, I'm hanging up now.  Have a good weekend!  And let me know when you'll be cutting the refund for the softwood duties.

Or, you could read these excerpts from the linked article for the "real" story . . .

OTTAWA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Canadian     Prime Minister Paul Martin bluntly rejected a call by U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday to negotiate an end to a softwood lumber dispute between the two countries.

The leaders talked for nearly 20 minutes in an unusually "frank" phone conversation, primarily about softwood. Bush urged a return to negotiations but Martin said this made little sense in light of a trade panel ruling in Canada's favor.

"The discussions I had with Mr. Bush were very cordial but very frank as well," Martin told reporters after the call, which the prime minister had promised to make since August.

"The president said we should get back to the negotiating table and work to find a lasting solution. The president expressed our strong commitment to NAFTA," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, calling the chat "candid."

The Canadian government has gone on the diplomatic warpath over the issue since a NAFTA ruling in August that came down in Canada's favor.

"The prime minister emphasized that for Canada, it makes little sense to negotiate a victory already won. Certainly, it's hard to see how we could go back to the table as though the...ruling had never occurred," a Canadian official said.

"The prime minister indicated that the next steps would be a double dose of litigation and advocacy. He reminded the president that Canada will be in U.S. courts making the point that the U.S. is in violation of an international agreement and its own domestic laws."

Canada says the August NAFTA decision effectively ended the fight and Washington should return the $4 billion in duties collected from Canadian lumber firms, but the United States insisted the ruling's impact was much more limited.

Washington points to a subsequent decision by a World Trade Organization panel that backed the U.S. claim that Canadian shipments posted a threat to U.S. lumber producers.

Martin told Bush that Canada would have respected the NAFTA decision had it gone against it.

"We expect the United States to respect the decisions when in fact the decisions are in Canada's favor," he told reporters.