[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 81 (Friday, April 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24724-24725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09920]


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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 July 1 through December 31, 2012.

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

ADDRESSES: See the Submission of Comments section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Terpstra, Import Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3965.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 
subsidy provided by countries exporting softwood lumber or softwood 
lumber products to the United States, including stumpage subsidies.
    The Department submitted its last subsidy report on December 17, 
2012. As part of its newest report, the Department 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 whose exports accounted 
for at least one percent of total U.S. imports of softwood

[[Page 24725]]

lumber by quantity, as classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule code 
4407.1001 (which accounts for the vast majority of imports), during the 
period July 1 through December 31, 2012. Official U.S. import data 
published by the United States International Trade Commission Tariff 
and Trade DataWeb indicate that only one country, Canada, 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 through June 30, 2013, to select the countries subject to the next 
report.
    Under U.S. trade law, a subsidy exists where 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, as amended.
    Parties should include in their comments: (1) The country which 
provided the subsidy; (2) the name of the subsidy program; (3) a brief 
description (at least 3-4 sentences) of the subsidy program; and (4) 
the government body or authority that provided the subsidy.

Submission of Comments

    Persons wishing to comment should file comments by the date 
specified above. Comments should only include publicly available 
information. 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 or materials to the persons 
submitting the comments and will not include them in its report on 
softwood lumber subsidies. The Department requests submission of 
comments filed in electronic Portable Document Format (PDF) submitted 
on CD-ROM or by email to the email address of the IA Webmaster, below.
    The comments received will be made available to the public in PDF 
on the Import Administration Web site at the following address: http://ia.ita.doc.gov/public-comments.html. Any questions concerning file 
formatting, access on the Internet, or other electronic filing issues 
should be addressed to Laura Merchant, Import Administration Webmaster, 
at (202) 482-0367, email address: mailto:[email protected].
    All comments and submissions in response to this Request for 
Comment should be received by the Department no later than 5 p.m., on 
the above-referenced deadline date.

    Dated: April 18, 2013.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary or Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2013-09920 Filed 4-25-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P