The U.S. lumber industry says it won’t accept the latest Canadian government proposal for a deal on softwood lumber, downplaying expectations any agreement is imminent, according to a story on Bloomberg Aug. 3.

Media reports had said Canada and the U.S. were close to an agreement on a deal that would cap Canada’s share of the U.S. lumber market at 30 per cent, but remained at odds over what will happen if U.S. producers can’t fulfill their 70 per cent share, Bloomberg reports.

“It is disappointing that Canada continues to negotiate through the media,” U.S. Lumber Coalition spokesman Zoltan van Heyningen said in a written statement. Canada initially agreed to negotiate a deal that saw it receive at or below its current market share, and the latest Canadian proposal is for it to receive at or above that share, he said. “The industry will not accept” such an agreement, van Heyningen said.

Richard Garneau, chief executive officer at Montreal-based Resolute Forest Products Inc., said the U.S. is at best able to supply 68 pe rcent of its own lumber requirements.

Read the full Bloomberg story here.