Subsidy Programs Provided by Countries Exporting Softwood Lumber and Softwood Lumber Products to the United States; Request for Comment
| Published date | 06 May 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 26924 |
| Record Number | 2020-09674 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | International Trade Administration |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 88 (Wednesday, May 6, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 26924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09674]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Subsidy Programs Provided by Countries Exporting Softwood Lumber
and Softwood Lumber Products to the United States; Request for Comment
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The 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 July 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019.
DATES: Comments must be submitted within 30 days after publication of
this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Johnson, AD/CVD Operations,
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20230; telephone: (202) 482-4793.
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 on
December 30, 2019. As part of its newest report, Commerce intends to
include a list of subsidy programs identified with sufficient clarity
by the public in response to this notice.
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) codes 4407.1001, 4407.1100, 4407.1200,
4407.1905, 4407.1906, 4407.1910, during the period July 1, 2019 through
December 31, 2019. Official U.S. import data published by the United
States International Trade Commission's DataWeb indicate that four
countries (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 previous six-
month periods to identify the countries subject to future reports on
softwood lumber subsidies. For example, we will rely on U.S. imports of
softwood lumber and softwood lumber products during the period January
1, 2020, through June 30, 2020, to select the countries subject to 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 GATT 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\
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\1\ See section 771(5)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.
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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.
Submission of Comments
As specified above, to be assured of consideration, comments must
be received no later than 30 days after the publication of this notice
in the Federal Register. All comments must be submitted through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket No.
ITA-2020-0002. 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.
The electronic comments should be addressed to Joseph Laroski,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, at U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20230.
Dated: April 22, 2020.
Joseph Laroski,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations.
[FR Doc. 2020-09674 Filed 5-5-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
