A spokesman for International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland says the U.S. Lumber Coalition is expected to submit petitions to the Department of Commerce on Friday, requesting an investigation in the ongoing softwood lumber dispute.
Softwood lumber is excluded from the continental trade agreement and lumber producers in both countries continually bicker over whether Canadian companies' cheap access to public forests constitutes an illegal subsidy.
Freeland's press secretary, Alex Lawrence, says Canada is prepared for any situation, and the government will "vigorously defend' the interests of Canadian workers and producers.
At the APEC summit in Peru last weekend, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed the dispute with U.S. President Barack Obama and Freeland met with U.S. trade representative Michael Froman.
The U.S. industry must sign on to any softwood lumber agreement, as it must agree to suspend its legal rights to petition for trade remedy relief for the duration of the agreement.
Canada's share of the U.S. market has oscillated between 26 per cent and 35 per cent since 2000 and was estimated at 31 per cent earlier this year.