[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 121 (Friday, June 24, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36687-36688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12484]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. WTO/DS-277]


WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding Investigation of the 
International Trade Commission in Softwood Lumber From Canada

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is 
providing notice that, at the request of Canada, the Dispute Settlement 
Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has established a 
dispute settlement panel under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the 
WTO. The panel is to examine whether the United States has implemented 
the recommendations and rulings of the DSB in a dispute involving a 
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) injury investigation of 
certain softwood lumber products from Canada. On April 26, 2004, the 
DSB adopted the findings of the panel in that dispute, which found that 
``in light of the totality of the factors considered and the reasoning 
in the USITC's determination, [it could not] conclude that the finding 
of a likely imminent substantial increase in imports is one which could 
have been reached by an objective and unbiased investigating 
authority.'' In response to the DSB's recommendations and rulings, the 
ITC issued a new determination in November 2004, which found that ``an 
industry in the United States is threatened with material injury by 
reason of imports of softwood lumber from Canada found to be subsidized 
and sold in the United States at less than fair value (`LTFV').'' In 
December 2004, the U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty orders on 
softwood lumber from Canada were amended to reflect the new 
determination. Canada subsequently requested the establishment of a 
dispute settlement panel, alleging that the United States had failed to 
implement the DSB's recommendations and rulings. USTR invites written 
comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

DATES: Although USTR will accept any comments received during the 
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be 
submitted on or before June 27, 2005, to be assured of timely 
consideration by USTR.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted (i) electronically, to 
[email protected], Attn: ``Lumber Injury Dispute (DS277)'' in the subject 
line, or (ii) by fax, to Sandy McKinzy at 202-395-3640, with a 
confirmation copy sent electronically to the e-mail address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theodore R. Posner, Associate General 
Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395-3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the WTO Understanding on Rules 
and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), the panel, 
which will hold its meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, is expected to 
issue a report on its findings and recommendations in September 2005.

Prior WTO Proceedings

    On April 26, 2004, the WTO DSB adopted the report of a dispute 
settlement panel in a dispute brought by Canada challenging the ITC's 
final threat of material injury determination in its investigation of 
softwood lumber imports from Canada. The panel rejected certain of 
Canada's claims but ultimately found that ``in light of the totality of 
the factors considered and the reasoning in the USITC's determination, 
[it could not] conclude that the finding of a likely imminent 
substantial increase in imports is one which could have been reached by 
an objective and unbiased investigating authority.'' The dispute 
settlement panel report is publicly available in the USTR reading room 
and on the WTO Web site http://www.wto.org.

Article 21.5 Proceeding

    Pursuant to the rules of the DSU, the United States and Canada 
agreed that the United States would have until January 26, 2005, to 
implement the recommendations and rulings of the DSB. To implement 
these recommendations and rulings, the ITC undertook a four-month 
process that involved reopening its administrative record in the 
Softwood Lumber from Canada investigation to gather additional 
information, holding a public hearing, providing interested parties 
three opportunities to submit written comments, and engaging in 
additional analysis. That process concluded with a new determination in 
November 2004, which found that ``an industry in the United States is 
threatened with material injury by reason of imports of softwood lumber 
from Canada found to be subsidized and sold in the United States at 
less than fair value (`LTFV').'' In December 2004, the U.S. antidumping 
and countervailing duty orders on softwood lumber from Canada

[[Page 36688]]

were amended to reflect the new determination. On February 14, 2005, 
Canada alleged that the United States had not properly implemented the 
recommendations and rulings and requested the establishment of a 
dispute settlement panel under Article 21.5 of the DSU to review this 
implementation. The panel was established on February 25, 2005.
    In its request under Article 21.5, Canada alleges that the ITC 
failed to implement the recommendations and rulings of the DSB by (1) 
failing to make a determination of threat of material injury based on 
facts; (2) failing to demonstrate a causal relationship between 
allegedly dumped and subsidized imports of softwood lumber from Canada 
and threatened injury to the domestic industry; and (3) failing to 
examine in an unbiased and objective manner any and all known factors 
other than the allegedly dumped and subsidized imports that were 
injuring or threatening to injure the domestic industry.
    The specific measures identified by Canada as inconsistent with 
U.S. WTO obligations under the AD Agreement and SCM Agreement are: (1) 
Section 129 Consistency Determination, Softwood Lumber from Canada, (24 
Nov. 2004), Inv. Nos. 701-TA-414 and 731-TA-928; and (2) Notice of 
Amendment to Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders on Certain 
Softwood Lumber Products From Canada (20 Dec. 2004), 69 FR 75917 
(Dep't. Commerce, December 20, 2004).
    The European Communities and the People's Republic of China have 
indicated their interest to participate in the dispute as third 
parties.

Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions

    Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning the issues raised in this dispute. Persons submitting 
comments may either send one copy by fax to Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-
3640, or transmit a copy electronically to [email protected], Attn: 
``Lumber Injury Dispute (DS277)'' in the subject line. For documents 
sent by fax, USTR requests that the submitter provide a confirmation 
copy to the electronic mail address listed above.
    Comments must be in English. USTR encourages the submission of 
documents in Adobe PDF format, as attachments to an electronic mail. 
Interested persons who make submissions by electronic mail should not 
provide separate cover letters; information that might appear in a 
cover letter should be included in the submission itself. Similarly, to 
the extent possible, any attachments to the submission should be 
included in the same file as the submission itself, and not as separate 
files.
    A person requesting that information contained in a comment 
submitted by that person be treated as confidential business 
information must certify that such information is business confidential 
and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter. 
Confidential business information must be clearly designated as such 
and the submission must be marked ``Business Confidential'' at the top 
and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page of the 
submission.
    Information or advice contained in a comment submitted, other than 
business confidential information, may be determined by USTR to be 
confidential in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(g)(2)). If the submitting person believes that 
information or advice may qualify as such, the submitting person--
    (1) Must clearly so designate the information or advice;
    (2) Must clearly mark the material as ``Submitted in Confidence'' 
at the top and bottom of each page of the cover page and each 
succeeding page; and
    (3) Is encouraged to provide a non-confidential summary of the 
information or advice.
    Pursuant to section 127(e) of the URAA (19 U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR 
will maintain a file on this dispute settlement proceeding, accessible 
to the public, in the USTR Reading Room, which is located at 1724 F 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508. The public file will include non-
confidential comments received by USTR from the public with respect to 
the dispute; if a dispute settlement panel is convened, the U.S. 
submissions to that panel, the submissions, or non-confidential 
summaries of submissions, to the panel received from other participants 
in the dispute, as well as the report of the panel; and, if applicable, 
the report of the Appellate Body. An appointment to review the public 
file (Docket No. WT/DS-277, Lumber Injury Dispute) may be made by 
calling the USTR Reading Room at (202) 395-6186. The USTR Reading Room 
is open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., 
Monday through Friday.

Daniel E. Brinza,
Assistant United States Trade Representative for Monitoring and 
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 05-12484 Filed 6-23-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W5-P