[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 208 (Monday, October 27, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63695-63696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25688]


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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Department) 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 through June 30, 2008.

DATES: Comments must be submitted within thirty days after publication 
of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Written comments (original and six copies) should be sent to 
the Secretary of Commerce, Attn: Jill E. Pollack, Import 
Administration, APO/Dockets Unit, Room 1870, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street & Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill E. Pollack, Office of the Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20230; telephone: (202) 482-4593.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 63696]]

Background

    On June 18, 2008, Section 805 of Title VIII of the Tariff Act of 
1930 (the Softwood Lumber Act of 2008) was enacted into law. Under this 
provision, the Secretary of Commerce is mandated to submit to the 
appropriate Congressional committees a report every 180 days on any 
subsidies provided by countries exporting softwood lumber or softwood 
lumber products to the United States, including stumpage subsidies. As 
part of its report, Commerce intends to include a list of subsidy 
programs identified with sufficient clarity by the public in response 
to this notice.

Request for Comment

    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 whose exports accounted 
for at least one percent of total U.S. imports of softwood lumber by 
quantity, as classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule code 4407.1001 
(which accounts for the vast majority of imports), during the period 
January 1 through June 30, 2008. Official U.S. import data published by 
the United States International Trade Commission Tariff and Trade 
DataWeb indicate that exports of softwood lumber from Brazil, Canada, 
Chile, and Germany each account for at least one percent of U.S. 
imports of softwood lumber products during that time period. 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 July 1 through December 31, 2008, to select 
the countries subject to the next report.
    Under U.S. law, a subsidy is defined as the situation in which a 
government 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. See 
Section 771(5)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930.
    Parties should include in their comments: (1) The country which 
provided the subsidy, (2) the name of the subsidy program, (3) a brief 
(3-4 sentence) description of the subsidy program, and (4) the 
government body or authority that provided the subsidy.

Submission of Comment

    Persons wishing to comment should file a signed original and six 
copies of each set of comments by the date specified above. The 
Department will not accept comments accompanied by a request that a 
part or all of the material be treated confidentially due to business 
proprietary concerns or for any other reason. The Department will 
return such comments and materials to the persons submitting the 
comments and will not include them in its report on softwood lumber 
subsidies. The Department also requests submission of comments in 
electronic form to accompany the required paper copies. Comments filed 
in electronic form should be submitted on CD-ROM with the paper copies 
or by e-mail to the Webmaster below.
    Comments received in electronic form will be made available to the 
public in Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Import Administration 
Web site at the following address: http://ia.ita.doc.gov. Any questions 
concerning file formatting, document conversion, access on the 
Internet, or other electronic filing issues should be addressed to 
Andrew Lee Beller, Import Administration Webmaster, at (202) 482-0866, 
e-mail address: [email protected].
    All comments and submissions should be mailed to Jill E. Pollack, 
Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration; 
Subject: Softwood Lumber Subsidies Bi-Annual Report: Request for 
Comment; Room 1870, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230, by no later than 5 
p.m., on the above-referenced deadline date.

    Dated: October 22, 2008.
Stephen J. Claeys,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
 [FR Doc. E8-25688 Filed 10-24-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P