[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 150 (Thursday, August 5, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47413-47415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-17911]



[[Page 47413]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-122-838]


Notice of Amended Initiation and Amended Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Certain Softwood Lumber 
Products From Canada

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

ACTION: Notice of amended initiation and amended preliminary results of 
antidumping duty administrative review.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: August 5, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Constance Handley or James Kemp, 
Office 5, AD/CVD Enforcement, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
0631 or (202) 482-5346, respectively.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce is amending its notice of 
initiation of administrative review of the antidumping duty order on 
certain softwood lumber products from Canada, covering the period May 
22, 2002, through April 30, 2003 (the POR) and its notice of 
preliminary results in the administrative review of the antidumping 
duty order on certain softwood lumber products from Canada for the POR. 
See Notice of Initiation of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 68 
FR 39059, July 1, 2003 (Initiation Notice); and Notice of Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Postponement of 
Final Results: Certain Softwood Lumber Products From Canada, 69 FR 
33235, June 14, 2004 (Preliminary Results). Pursuant to this amendment, 
we are initiating a review on 22 additional companies. The review-
specific average rate for respondents not selected for individual 
review as calculated in the Preliminary Results will be applicable to 
these companies.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 1, 2003, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
published a notice of opportunity to request the first administrative 
review of this order. See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, 
Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request 
Administrative Review, 68 FR 23281, May 1, 2003. On May 30, 2003, in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(b), the petitioner \1\ requested a 
review of producers/exporters of certain softwood lumber products. 
Also, between May 7, and June 2, 2003, Canadian producers requested a 
review on their own behalf or had a review of their company requested 
by a U.S. importer.
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    \1\ The petitioner in this case is the Coalition for Fair Lumber 
Imports Executive Committee. We note that during the review, 
submissions have been made interchangeably by the petitioner itself 
and by the Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports, a domestic interested 
party. For ease of reference, we will use the term ``petitioner'' to 
refer to submissions by either, although we recognize that the 
Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports is not the actual petitioner.
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    On July 1, 2003, the Department published a notice of initiation of 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain softwood 
lumber products from Canada, covering the POR. See Initiation Notice.
    On June 14, 2004, the Department published a notice of preliminary 
results of antidumping duty administrative on certain softwood lumber 
products from Canada, covering the POR. See Preliminary Results. 
Twenty-two companies for which a timely request for review had been 
received \2\ were inadvertently omitted from the Initiation Notice and 
hence the Preliminary Results. To rectify this inaccuracy, the 
Department is issuing this notice of amended initiation and amended 
preliminary results of the antidumping duty administrative review to 
include the 22 previously omitted companies.
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    \2\ See letter from Joel R. Junker to the Department, dated May 
28, 2003.
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Initiation of Review

    We are initiating an administrative review of the antidumping duty 
order on Certain Softwood Lumber Products from Canada, covering the 
period May 22, 2002, through April 30, 2003 for the following 
companies. We intend to issue the final results of this review no later 
than December 13, 2004.

AFA Forest Products Inc.
Associated Cedar Products
Barry Maedel Woods & Timber
Deep Cove Forest Products
Ivis Wood Products
Lazy S Lumber
Louisiana Pacific Corporation
Mary's River Lumber
New West Lumber Ltd.
Quadra Wood Products Ltd.
Schols Cedar Products
Silvermere Forest Products Inc.
Standard Building Products Ltd.
Still Creek Forest Products Ltd.
Stuart Lake Marketing Company
Suncoast Lumber & Milling
Sundance Forest Industries
Taiga Forest Products
Teal-Jones Group
T.F. Specialty Sawmill
Western Cleanwood Preservers Ltd.
Western Wood Preservers Ltd.

Scope of the Review

    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 
customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise under 
review is dispositive.
    Softwood lumber products excluded from the scope:
     Trusses and truss kits, properly classified under HTSUS 
4418.90.
     I-joist beams.
     Assembled box spring frames.
     Pallets and pallet kits, properly classified under HTSUS 
4415.20.
     Garage doors.
     Edge-glued wood, properly classified under HTSUS 
4421.90.97.40 (formerly HTSUS 4421.90.98.40).
     Properly classified complete door frames.
     Properly classified complete window frames.

[[Page 47414]]

     Properly classified furniture.
    Softwood lumber products excluded from the scope only if they meet 
certain requirements:
     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 4421.90.97.40 (formerly HTSUS 4421.90.98.40).
     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.
     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.
     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.
     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 and 
Border Protection (CBP)'s satisfaction that the lumber is of U.S. 
origin.
     Softwood lumber products contained in single family home 
packages or kits,\3\ regardless of tariff classification, are excluded 
from the scope of the orders if the following criteria are met:
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    \3\ 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.
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    (A) 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;
    (B) 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;
    (C) 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;
    (D) The whole package must be imported under a single consolidated 
entry when permitted by CBP, 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;
    (E) The following documentation must be included with the entry 
documents:
     a copy of the appropriate home design, plan, or blueprint 
matching the entry;
     a purchase contract from a retailer of home kits or 
packages signed by a customer not affiliated with the importer;
     a listing of inventory of all parts of the package or kit 
being entered that conforms to the home design package being entered;
     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 CBP 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.
    In addition, this scope language has been further clarified to now 
specify that all softwood lumber products entered from Canada claiming 
non-subject status based on U.S. country of origin will be treated as 
non-subject U.S.-origin merchandise under the countervailing duty 
order, provided that these softwood lumber products meet the following 
condition: upon entry, the importer, exporter, Canadian processor and/
or original U.S. producer establish to CBP's satisfaction that the 
softwood lumber entered and documented as U.S.-origin softwood lumber 
was first produced in the United States as a lumber product satisfying 
the physical parameters of the softwood lumber scope.\4\ The 
presumption of non-subject status can, however, be rebutted by evidence 
demonstrating that the merchandise was substantially transformed in 
Canada.
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    \4\ See the scope clarification message (3034202), dated 
February 3, 2003, to CBP, regarding treatment of U.S.-origin lumber 
on file in the Central Records Unit, Room B-099 of the main Commerce 
Building.
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Amended Preliminary Results of Review

    In the preliminary results, the Department determined a preliminary 
weighted-average margin for those companies that requested, but were 
not selected for, individual review. As a result of this review, we 
preliminarily determine that the following review-specific weighted-
average margin exists for the period covering the POR, for the 
following additional companies:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                        Producer                          average margin
                                                           (percentage)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFA Forest Products Inc.................................  ..............
Associated Cedar Products...............................  ..............
Barry Maedel Woods & Timber.............................  ..............
Deep Cove Forest Products...............................  ..............
Ivis Wood Products......................................  ..............
Lazy S Lumber...........................................  ..............
Louisiana Pacific Corporation...........................  ..............
Mary's River Lumber.....................................  ..............
New West Lumber Ltd.....................................  ..............
Quadra Wood Products Ltd................................  ..............
Schols Cedar Products...................................  ..............
Silvemere Forest Products Inc...........................  ..............
Standard Building Products Ltd..........................  ..............
Still Creek Forest Products Ltd.........................  ..............
Stuart Lake Marketing Company...........................  ..............
Suncoast Lumber & Milling...............................  ..............
Sundance Forest Industries..............................  ..............
Taiga Forest Products...................................  ..............
Teal-Jones Group........................................  ..............
T.F. Specialty Sawmill..................................  ..............

[[Page 47415]]

 
Western Cleanwood Preservers Ltd........................  ..............
Western Wood Preservers Ltd.............................            3.98
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Assessment

    Upon completion of this administrative review, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.212(b), the Department will calculate an assessment rate on all 
appropriate entries. For the companies requesting a review, but not 
selected for examination and calculation of individual rates, we will 
calculate a weighted-average assessment rate based on all importer-
specific assessment rates excluding any which are de minimis or margins 
determined entirely on adverse facts available. Where the assessment 
rate is above de minimis, we will instruct CBP to assess duties on all 
entries of subject merchandise by that importer.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following deposit rate will be effective upon publication of 
the final results of this administrative review of all shipments of 
certain softwood lumber products from Canada entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date, as 
provided by section 751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (the Act): (1) 
for the non-selected companies we will calculate a weighted-average 
cash deposit rate based on all the company-specific cash deposit rates, 
excluding de minimis margins or margins determined entirely on adverse 
facts available; (2) for previously reviewed or investigated companies 
not participating in this review, the cash deposit rate will continue 
to be the company-specific rate published for the most recent period; 
(3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a prior 
review, or the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation, but the 
manufacturer is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for 
the most recent period for the manufacturer of the merchandise and; (4) 
if neither the exporter nor the manufacturer is a firm covered in this 
or any previous review conducted by the Department, the cash deposit 
rate will be 8.43 percent, the ``All Others'' rate established in the 
LTFV investigation. At this time the Department is considering 
instructing CBP to apply the cash deposit rate to the sum of the 
entered value, countervailing duties and antidumping duties when these 
items are deducted in determining entered value. These cash deposit 
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until publication of 
the final results of the next administrative review.
    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate regarding 
the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the 
relevant entities during this review period. Failure to comply with 
this requirement could result in the Secretary's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: July 29, 2004.
James J. Jochum,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-17911 Filed 8-4-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P