2024-23731. Subsidy Programs Provided by Countries Exporting Softwood Lumber and Softwood Lumber Products to the United States; Request for Comment

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Department of Commerce

International Trade Administration

AGENCY:

Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) seeks public comment on any subsidies, including stumpage subsidies, provided by certain countries exporting softwood lumber or softwood lumber products to the United States during the period January 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted by November 14, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

All comments must be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket No. ITA-2024-0006. The materials in the docket will not be edited to remove identifying or contact information, and Commerce cautions against including any information in an electronic submission that the submitter does not want publicly disclosed. Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF formats only.

All comments should be addressed to Abdelali Elouaradia, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kristen Johnson, AD/CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, DC 20230; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Pursuant to section 805 of title VIII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (the Softwood Lumber Act of 2008), the Secretary of Commerce is mandated to submit to the appropriate Congressional committees a report every 180 days on any subsidy provided by countries exporting softwood lumber or softwood lumber products to the United States, including stumpage subsidies. Commerce submitted its last subsidy report to the Congress on June 27, 2024.

Request for Comments

Given the large number of countries that export softwood lumber and softwood lumber products to the United States, we are soliciting public comment only on subsidies provided by countries which had exports accounting for at least one percent of total U.S. imports of softwood lumber by quantity, as classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 4407.1100, 4407.1200, 4407.1300, 4407.1400, and 4407.1900, during the period January 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024. Official U.S. import data, published by the United States International Trade Commission's DataWeb, indicate that five countries (Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, and Sweden) exported softwood lumber to the United States during that time period in amounts sufficient to account for at least one percent of U.S. imports of softwood lumber products. We intend to rely on similar six-month periods to identify the countries subject to future reports on softwood lumber subsidies. For example, we intend to rely on U.S. imports of softwood lumber and softwood lumber products during the period July 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024, to select the countries subject for the next report.

Under U.S. trade law, a subsidy exists where an authority: (i) provides a financial contribution; (ii) provides any form of income or price support within the meaning of Article XVI of the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade 1994; or (iii) makes a payment to a funding mechanism to provide a financial contribution to a person, or entrusts or directs a private entity to make a financial contribution, if providing the contribution would normally be vested in the government and the practice does not differ in substance from practices normally followed by governments, and a benefit is thereby conferred.^[1]

Parties should include in their comments: (1) the country which provided the subsidy; (2) the name of the subsidy program; (3) a brief description (no more than 3-4 sentences) of the subsidy program; and (4) the government body or authority that provided the subsidy.

Dated: October 7, 2024.

Dawn Shackleford,

Executive Director for Trade Agreements Policy and Negotiations.

Footnotes

1.   See section 771(5)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.