FEDERAL WAY, Wash.--March 22, 2002--Weyerhaeuser called on both the Canadian and the United States governments to resume and intensify softwood negotiations or risk irreparable damage to the most successful trading partnership in the world and the relationship between two great allies. The company statement follows a decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce to invoke duties totaling 35 percent on its wood products from Canada, pending a final decision in May. Weyerhaeuser intends to look at all of its options, including an immediate appeal of this decision, to address gross distortions in the Department of Commerce anti-dumping calculations and discrimination against high value products such as Western Red Cedar. The company has not yet determined what specific impact the duties will have on future operating levels in Canada. "The decision to impose duties is based on deeply flawed trade law and the extreme demands of a protectionist special interest group of some U.S. lumber producers. It is the wrong way to deal with this issue. The real stakeholders in this dispute are American consumers and Canadian communities who will bear the brunt of these punitive measures,'' said William R. Corbin, Weyerhaeuser's executive vice president, Wood Products. "The right way to solve this trade dispute is to negotiate a long-term, market-driven solution that accounts for broader interests on both sides of the border,'' said Corbin. "The decision today ignores concerns raised repeatedly by U.S home builders, retailers, consumers and companies like Weyerhaeuser about the impact of punitive duties. It also negates genuine efforts by both governments to put forward substantive policy changes that could form the basis of an enduring and workable solution.'' As the largest lumber producer in North America, with extensive operations in both Canada and the United States, Weyerhaeuser has supported bi-lateral negotiations aimed at reaching a long-term agreement that would help bring stability and certainty to the marketplace.