[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 59 (Thursday, March 27, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14947-14948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-7360]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-122-838]


Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review: 
Certain Softwood Lumber Products From Canada

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 27, 2003.

ACTION: Notice of initiation of changed circumstances review.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(b) (2002), Monterra Lumber 
Mills Limited (Monterra), a Canadian producer of softwood lumber 
products and an interested party in this proceeding, filed a request 
for a changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on 
certain softwood lumber products from Canada, as described below. In 
response to this request, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
is initiating a changed circumstances review of the antidumping order 
on certain softwood lumber from Canada.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Nickerson or Constance Handley, 
at (202) 482-3813 or (202) 482-0631, respectively; Import 
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As a result of the antidumping duty order 
issued following the completion of the less-than-fair-value 
investigation of certain softwood lumber products from Canada, imports 
of softwood lumber from Monterra, a subsidiary of respondent company 
Weyerhauser Company Limited (Weyerhauser), became subject to a cash 
deposit rate of 12.39 percent (see Notice of Amended Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Antidumping Order: 
Certain Softwood Lumber Products from Canada 67 FR 36068 (May 22, 
2002)). On February 4, 2003, Monterra notified the Department that 
effective December 23, 2002, Weyerhauser sold its interest in Monterra 
to 1554545 Ontario, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tercamm Corp., a 
privately owned Canadian investment company. As a result, Monterra is 
requesting that, effective December 23, 2002, it be subject to the 
``All Others'' cash deposit rate of 8.43 percent, rather than 
Weyerhauser's 12.39 percent rate.

Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this order are softwood lumber, flooring 
and siding (softwood lumber products). Softwood lumber products include 
all products classified under headings 4407.1000, 4409.1010, 4409.1090, 
and 4409.1020, respectively, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS), and any softwood lumber, flooring and siding 
described below. These softwood lumber products include:
    (1) Coniferous wood, sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, 
whether or not planed, sanded or finger-jointed, of a thickness 
exceeding six millimeters;
    (2) Coniferous wood siding (including strips and friezes for 
parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, 
rabbeted, chamfered, v-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded or the like) 
along any of its edges or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or 
finger-jointed;
    (3) Other coniferous wood (including strips and friezes for parquet 
flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, 
rabbeted, chamfered, v-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded or the like) 
along any of its edges or faces (other than wood moldings and wood 
dowel rods) whether or not planed, sanded or finger-jointed; and
    (4) Coniferous wood flooring (including strips and friezes for 
parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, 
rabbeted, chamfered, v-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded or the like) 
along any of its edges or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or 
finger-jointed.
    Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
U.S. customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise under 
investigation is dispositive. Preliminary scope exclusions and 
clarifications were published in three separate Federal Register 
notices.
    Softwood lumber products excluded from the scope:
    [sbull] Trusses and truss kits, properly classified under HTSUS 
4418.90
    [sbull] I-joist beams
    [sbull] Assembled box spring frames
    [sbull] Pallets and pallet kits, properly classified under HTSUS 
4415.20
    [sbull] Garage doors.
    [sbull] Edge-glued wood, properly classified under HTSUS item 
4421.90.98.40
    [sbull] Properly classified complete door frames.
    [sbull] Properly classified complete window frames.
    [sbull] Properly classified furniture.
    Softwood lumber products excluded from the scope only if they meet 
certain requirements:
    [sbull] Stringers (pallet components used for runners): if they 
have at least two notches on the side, positioned at equal distance 
from the center, to properly accommodate forklift blades, properly 
classified under HTSUS 4421.90.98.40.
    [sbull] Box-spring frame kits: if they contain the following wooden 
pieces--two side rails, two end (or top) rails and varying numbers of 
slats. The side rails and the end rails should be radius-cut at both 
ends. The kits should be individually packaged, they should contain the 
exact number of wooden components needed to make a particular box 
spring frame, with no further processing required. None of the 
components exceeds 1'' in actual thickness or 83'' in length.
    [sbull] Radius-cut box-spring-frame components, not exceeding 1'' 
in actual thickness or 83'' in length, ready for assembly without 
further processing. The radius cuts must be present on both ends of the 
boards and must be substantial cuts so as to completely round one 
corner.
    [sbull] Fence pickets requiring no further processing and properly 
classified under HTSUS 4421.90.70, 1'' or less in actual thickness, up 
to 8'' wide, 6' or less in length, and have finials or decorative 
cuttings that clearly identify them as fence pickets. In the case of 
dog-eared fence pickets, the corners of the boards should be cut off so 
as to remove pieces of wood in the shape of isosceles right angle 
triangles with sides measuring \3/4\ inch or more.
    [sbull] U.S. origin lumber shipped to Canada for minor processing 
and imported into the United States, is excluded from the scope of this 
order if the following conditions are met: (1) The processing occurring 
in Canada is limited to kiln-drying, planing to create smooth-to-size 
board, and sanding, and (2) if the importer establishes to Customs' 
satisfaction that the lumber is of U.S. origin.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ As clarified in the Memorandum from Dave Layton, Case 
Analyst, through Charles Riggle, Program Manager, and Gary Taverman, 
Office Director, to Bernard Carreau, Deputy Assistant Secretary, 
concerning the Certain Softweed Lumber from Canada Scope re: Final 
Scope Ruling in Response to Request by the Coalition for Fair Lumber 
Imports Executive Committee regarding U.S.-origin Lumber Undergoing 
Additional Processing, dated January 22, 2003.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 14948]]

    [sbull] Softwood lumber products contained in single family home 
packages or kits,\2\ regardless of tariff classification, are excluded 
from the scope of the orders if the following criteria are met:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ To ensure administrability, we clarified the language of 
this exclusion to require an importer certification and to permit 
single or multiple entries on multiple days as well as instructing 
importers to retain and make available for inspection specific 
documentation in support of each entry.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    1. The imported home package or kit constitutes a full package of 
the number of wooden pieces specified in the plan, design or blueprint 
necessary to produce a home of at least 700 square feet produced to a 
specified plan, design or blueprint;
    2. The package or kit must contain all necessary internal and 
external doors and windows, nails, screws, glue, subfloor, sheathing, 
beams, posts, connectors and if included in purchase contract decking, 
trim, drywall and roof shingles specified in the plan, design or 
blueprint;
    3. Prior to importation, the package or kit must be sold to a 
retailer of complete home packages or kits pursuant to a valid purchase 
contract referencing the particular home design plan or blueprint, and 
signed by a customer not affiliated with the importer;
    4. The whole package must be imported under a single consolidated 
entry when permitted by the U.S. customs service, whether or not on a 
single or multiple trucks, rail cars or other vehicles, which shall be 
on the same day except when the home is over 2,000 square feet;
    5. The following documentation must be included with the entry 
documents:
    [sbull] A copy of the appropriate home design, plan, or blueprint 
matching the entry;
    [sbull] A purchase contract from a retailer of home kits or 
packages signed by a customer not affiliated with the importer;
    [sbull] A listing of inventory of all parts of the package or kit 
being entered that conforms to the home design package being entered;
    [sbull] In the case of multiple shipments on the same contract, all 
items listed immediately above which are included in the present 
shipment shall be identified as well.
    We have determined that the excluded products listed above are 
outside the scope of this order provided the specified conditions are 
met. Lumber products that Customs may classify as stringers, radius cut 
box-spring-frame components, and fence pickets, not conforming to the 
above requirements, as well as truss components, pallet components, and 
door and window frame parts, are covered under the scope of this order 
and may be classified under HTSUS subheadings 4418.90.40.90, 
4421.90.70.40, and 4421.90.98.40. Due to changes in the 2002 HTSUS 
whereby subheading 4418.90.40.90 and 4421.90.98.40 were changed to 
4418.90.45.90 and 4421.90.97.40, respectively, we are adding these 
subheadings as well.

Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review

    Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act), the Department will conduct a changed circumstances review 
upon receipt of information concerning, or a request from an interested 
party of, an antidumping duty order which shows changed circumstances 
sufficient to warrant a review of the order. Monterra contends that, 
because it is no longer owned by Weyerhauser, it should be subject to 
the ``All Others'' cash deposit rate. In accordance with 19 CFR 351.216 
(c), due to the change in ownership, the Department finds good cause to 
initiate a changed circumstances review despite the final determination 
being in existence for fewer than 24 months. Therefore, we are 
initiating a changed circumstances administrative review pursuant to 
section 751(b)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216(c) to determine whether 
entries naming Monterra as manufacturer and exporter should receive the 
``All Others'' cash deposit rate of 8.43 percent.
    With regard to Monterra's request to have the cash deposit rate of 
8.43 percent made effective as of December 23, 2002, because cash 
deposits are only estimates of the amount of antidumping duties that 
will be due, changes in cash deposit rates are not made retroactive. If 
Monterra believes that the deposits paid exceed the actual amount of 
dumping, it is entitled to request an administrative review during the 
anniversary month of the publication of the order of those entries to 
determine the proper assessment rate and receive a refund of any excess 
deposits. See Certain Hot-Rolled Lead and Bismuth Carbon Steel Products 
From the United Kingdom: Final Results of Changed-Circumstances 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 64 FR 66880 
(November 30, 1999).
    The Department will publish in the Federal Register a notice of 
preliminary results of changed circumstances antidumping duty 
administrative review in accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4) and 
351.221(c)(3)(i), which will set forth the Department's preliminary 
factual and legal conclusions. The Department will issue its final 
results of review in accordance with the time limits set forth in 19 
CFR 351.216(e).
    This notice is in accordance with section 751(b)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: March 21, 2003.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-7360 Filed 3-26-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P