Horgan travels to Washington, D.C., to talk softwood with Trump trade reps

Premier John Horgan is set to meet with some of the Trump administration’s top trade officials Thursday in Washington, D.C, where he intends to press to resolve the softwood lumber trade dispute between Canada and the United States (Photo By Tony Hisgett, CC BY 2.0)

VICTORIA – Premier John Horgan is set to meet with some of the Trump administration’s top trade officials Thursday in Washington, D.C, where he intends to press to resolve the softwood lumber trade dispute between Canada and the United States.

Horgan will have meetings with U.S. Trade Secretary Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Dave Reichert, a congressman from Washington State.

Lighthizer is regarded as Trump’s top official in upcoming North American free trade talks, while Ross is a billionaire banker appointed by Trump and known as a fierce trade opponent.

Reichert is the chairman of a committee looking into the modernization of NAFTA.

Horgan met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa Tuesday where the two leaders discussed the need to resolve the trade dispute.

The premier is also meeting Canada’s U.S. Ambassador David MacNaughton and B.

C.’s special softwood trade envoy David Emerson.