The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) has succeeded in preventing further illegal disbursement of wheat tariff money to the North Dakota Wheat Commission (NDWC).

On Friday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the United States violated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by using a disputed section of U.S. trade law, referred to as the Byrd Amendment, to distribute duties collected on imports of Canadian products. Under this controversial law, proceeds of tariffs from dumping and countervailable subsides are directed to the injured U.S. industry – in this case, American hard red spring wheat producers through the NDWC.

The CWB joined forces in launching this court action with the softwood lumber industry, Canadian magnesium exporters and the Government of Canada.

"This money is being used to subsidize trade harassment of Canadian wheat, which we have every right to sell into the American market," said Ken Ritter, chair of the CWB's farmer-controlled board of directors. "That's why we have been doing everything we can to prevent these tariff proceeds from flowing to the North Dakota Wheat Commission."

The NDWC received more than $100,000 of the duties paid on hard red spring imports from Canada. At the end of February 2006, duties on Canadian wheat were removed, after the CWB succeeded in its appeal to a NAFTA tribunal, which agreed there were no grounds for the prohibitive tariff.

The tariffs on Canadian wheat imports were paid by American customers, not by western Canadian farmers. Ritter said it was important for the CWB to participate in this case because of the issue at stake.

"Use of the Byrd Amendment has allowed American protectionists to underwrite their legal trade challenges and undermine the rights of western Canadian farmers who export wheat to the United States," he said. "The CWB's farmer-controlled board of directors felt it was important to take a stand against this unfair practice on behalf of Prairie grain producers."

Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. As one of Canada's biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based company sells grain to more than 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less marketing costs, to Prairie farmers.