[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32121-32123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14338]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-122-858]


Certain Softwood Lumber Products From Canada: Final Results of 
Countervailing Duty Expedited Review

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) has conducted an 
expedited review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain 
softwood lumber products (softwood lumber) from Canada for the 
producers/exporters that requested a review. As a result, we are 
excluding certain producers/exporters from the CVD order on lumber from 
Canada. We also find that certain producers/exporters received 
countervailable subsidies at above de minimis rates during the January 
1, 2015, through December 31, 2015, period of review.

DATES: Applicable July 5, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Johnson or Nicholas 
Czajkowski, AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4793 
and (202) 482-1395, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Commerce published the Preliminary Results of the expedited review 
on February 1, 2019.\1\ A summary of the events that occurred since 
Commerce published the Preliminary Results, as well as a full 
discussion of the issues raised by parties for the final results, may 
be found in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\ The Issues and 
Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically 
via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to 
registered users at https://access.trade.gov, and is available to all 
parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department 
of Commerce building. In

[[Page 32122]]

addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can 
be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed 
Issues and Decision Memorandum and the electronic version are identical 
in content.
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    \1\ See Certain Softwood Lumber Products From Canada: 
Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Expedited Review, 84 FR 
1051 (February 1, 2019) (Preliminary Results).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Results of Expedited Review of the Countervailing Duty Order 
on Certain Softwood Lumber Products from Canada,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by this notice.
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Scope of the Order

    The product covered by this order is certain softwood lumber 
products from Canada. A full description of the scope of the order is 
contained in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\3\
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    \3\ Id.
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Methodology

    Commerce has conducted this CVD expedited review in accordance with 
section 103(a) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) and 19 CFR 
351.214(k). For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum. The subsidy 
programs under review, and the issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs submitted by the parties, are discussed in the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues that parties raised, and to 
which we responded in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, is attached 
to this notice at the Appendix.
    Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from 
parties, we made changes to the subsidy rate calculations for certain 
producers/exporters since the Preliminary Results. For a discussion of 
these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum and the Final 
Calculation Memoranda.\4\
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    \4\ Id.
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    We determined a CVD rate for each producer/exporter of the subject 
merchandise that requested an expedited review.

Final Results of the Expedited Review

    As a result of this expedited review, we determine the 
countervailable subsidy rates to be:
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    \5\ Commerce finds the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Fontaine Inc.: Gestion Natanis Inc., Les Placements Jean-Paul 
Fontaine Ltee, and Placements Nicolas Fontaine Inc.
    \6\ Commerce finds the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Les Produits Forestiers D&G Lt[eacute]e: Le Groupe Gesco-Star 
Lt[eacute]e, Les Produits Forestiers Portbec Lt[eacute]e, and Les 
Produits Forestiers Startrees Lt[eacute]e.
    \7\ Commerce finds the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Marcel Lauzon Inc.: Placements Marcel Lauzon Ltee and 
Investissements LRC Inc.
    \8\ Commerce finds the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Mobilier Rustique (Beauce) Inc.: J.F.S.R. Inc., Gestion C.A. 
Rancourt Inc., Gestion J.F. Rancourt Inc., Gestion Suzie Rancourt 
Inc., Gestion P.H.Q. Inc., 9331-3419 Quebec Inc., 9331-3468 Quebec 
Inc., and SPQ Inc.
    \9\ Commerce finds the following companies to be cross-owned 
with North American Forest Products Ltd.: Parent-Violette Gestion 
Lt[eacute]e and Le Groupe Parent Lt[eacute]e.
    \10\ Commerce finds Bois Ouvre de Beauceville (1992), Inc. to be 
cross-owned with Produits Matra, Inc. (Matra) and Sechoirs de Beauce 
Inc. (Sechoirs). Matra and Sechoirs submitted separate requests for 
the expedited review; however, based on record evidence, we found 
them to be cross-owned, and therefore calculated a single 
countervailing duty rate for both. Collectively, we refer to Matra, 
Sechoirs, and their cross-owned affiliate as Groupe Matra.
    \11\ Commerce finds the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Roland Boulanger & Cie Lt[eacute]e: Industries Daveluyville, 
Inc. and Les Manufacturiers Warwick Lt[eacute]e.
    \12\ Commerce finds the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Scierie Alexandre Lemay & Fils Inc.: Bois Lemay Inc. and 
Industrie Lemay Inc.

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                                                                Subsidy
                      Producer/exporter                          rate
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Fontaine Inc. and its cross-owned affiliates \5\ (Fontaine).        1.26
Les Produits Forestiers D&G Lt[eacute]e and its cross-owned       * 0.21
 affiliates \6\ (D&G).......................................
Marcel Lauzon Inc. and its cross-owned affiliates (MLI) \7\.      * 0.42
Mobilier Rustique (Beauce) Inc. and its cross-owned                 1.99
 affiliates \8\.............................................
North American Forest Products Ltd. and its cross-owned           * 0.17
 affiliates \9\ (NAFP)......................................
Produits Matra Inc. and Sechoirs de Beauce Inc. and their           5.80
 cross-owned affiliate \10\.................................
Roland Boulanger & Cie Lt[eacute]e and its cross-owned            * 0.31
 affiliates \11\ (Roland)...................................
Scierie Alexandre Lemay & Fils Inc. and its cross-owned           * 0.05
 affiliates (Lemay) \12\....................................
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* de minimis subsidy rate.

Cash Deposit Instructions

    Pursuant to section 19 CFR 351.214(k)(3)(iii), the final results of 
this expedited review will not be the basis for the assessment of 
countervailing duties. Upon the issuance of these final results, 
Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing duties for the 
companies subject to this expedited review, at the rates shown above, 
on shipments of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of the 
final results of this expedited review. These cash deposit 
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further 
notice.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.214(k)(3)(iv), because we have determined a 
countervailable subsidy rate for D&G, MLI, NAFP, Roland, and Lemay that 
is de minimis, with these final results of expedited review, we 
determine to exclude D&G, MLI, NAFP, Roland, and Lemay from the CVD 
order. Commerce's practice with respect to exclusions of companies from 
a CVD duty order is to exclude the subject merchandise both produced 
and exported by those companies.\13\ As a result, we will instruct CBP 
to discontinue the suspension of liquidation and the collection of cash 
deposits of estimated countervailing duties on all shipments of 
softwood lumber produced and exported by D&G, MLI, NAFP, Roland, and 
Lemay, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date of publication of these final results. In addition, we 
will instruct CBP to liquidate, without regard to countervailing 
duties, all suspended entries of shipments of softwood lumber produced 
and exported by D&G, MLI, NAFP, Roland, and Lemay, and to refund all 
cash deposits of estimated countervailing duties collected on all such 
shipments. Merchandise which D&G, MLI, NAFP, Roland, and Lemay exports 
but does not produce, as well as merchandise D&G, MLI, NAFP, Roland, 
and Lemay produces but is exported by another company, remains subject 
to the CVD order.
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    \13\ See, e.g., Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from 
India, Italy, Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China: 
Countervailing Duty Order, 81 FR 48387 (July 25, 2016).
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Administrative Protective Orders

    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the destruction of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written 
notification of the return or destruction of APO materials or 
conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to 
comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable 
violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published pursuant to section 
103(a) of the URAA and in accordance with sections 19 CFR 351.214(k) 
and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5).

    Dated: June 28, 2019.
Alex Villanueva,
Senior Director, Office I, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations.

Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Subsidies Valuation
V. Analysis of Programs
VI. Discussion of the Issues

Comment 1: Whether Article 19.3 of the Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures

[[Page 32123]]

(SCM) Agreement Requires ``Expedited CVD Reviews''
Comment 2: Whether Reviews Conducted Under Section 751(a)(2)(B) of 
the Act Are Limited to New Exporters and Producers
Comment 3: Whether Reviews Conducted Under Section 751(a) of the Act 
Cannot Begin Until at Least the Anniversary of the CVD Order and 
Must Act as the Basis for the Assessment of CVD Duties
Comment 4: Whether Section 736(c) of the Act Can Serve as the Basis 
for Conducting CVD Expedited Reviews
Comment 5: Whether Commerce Should Account for Respondents' 
Purchases of Subject Merchandise/Rough-Hewn Lumber and Whether 
Commerce Should Assign the ``All-Others'' Rate from the CVD Order to 
the Respondents in the Current Proceeding
Comment 6: Whether the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance (ACCA) for 
Class 29 Assets Program Is De Jure Specific
Comment 7: Whether the Provincial and Federal Logging Tax Credits 
(PLTC and FLTC) Are Countervailable
Comment 8: Whether Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) Loans 
Are Specific and Countervailable
Comment 9: Whether Commerce Correctly Determined Specificity for 
Various Tax and Employment Programs
Comment 10: Whether the Workforce Skills Development and Recognition 
Fund (aka, FDRCMO) Is De Facto Specific
Comment 11: Whether the Immigrant Investor Program Is De Facto 
Specific
Comment 12: Whether the Tax Credit for On-the-Job Training Period Is 
De Facto Specific
Comment 13: Whether the Tax Credit for Investments Relating to 
Manufacturing and Processing Equipment Is De Jure Specific
Comment 14: Whether the Scientific Research and Experimental 
Development (SR&ED) Tax Measure Is De Facto Specific
Comment 15: Whether Matra and Sechoirs Should Be Treated Separately
Comment 16: Whether Commerce Should Find Groupe Matra To Be 
Creditworthy
Comment 17: Whether Commerce Erred in Its Analysis of Investissement 
Qu[eacute]bec (IQ) Guaranteed Loans
Comment 18: Whether Commerce Should Continue to Apply Partial 
Adverse Facts Available (AFA) to the Immigrant Investor Program
Comment 19: Whether it Was Proper for Commerce to Consider New 
Subsidy Allegations in an Expedited Review
Comment 20: Whether New Brunswick's Property Tax Incentives for 
Private Forest Producers Is Countervailable
Comment 21: Whether the Benefit Analysis for New Brunswick's 
Property Assessment System Should Be Adjusted
Comment 22: Whether Commerce Should Correct Fontaine's Total Sales 
Amount
Comment 23: Whether Commerce Should Use Fontaine's Taxes Paid in 
2015 to Calculate Receipt of Alleged Benefits During the Period of 
Review (POR)

VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2019-14338 Filed 7-3-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P