Notice2025-06146
Subsidy Programs Provided by Countries Exporting Softwood Lumber and Softwood Lumber Products to the United States; Request for Comment
Primary source
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Published
April 10, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) 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, 2024 through December 31, 2024.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 68 (Thursday, April 10, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 68 (Thursday, April 10, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 15333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-06146]
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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: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) 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, 2024 through December
31, 2024.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by May 12, 2025.
ADDRESSES: All comments must be submitted through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, Docket No. ITA-2025-
0002. The materials in the docket will not be edited to remove
identifying or contact information, and Commerce cautions against
including any information in an electronic submission that the
submitter does not want publicly disclosed. Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF
formats only.
All comments should be addressed to Christopher Abbott, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the non-
exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Johnson, AD/CVD Operations,
Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4793.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Pursuant to section 805 of title VIII of the Tariff Act of 1930
(the Softwood Lumber Act of 2008), 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. Commerce submitted its last subsidy report to the
Congress on December 20, 2024.
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 which had exports
accounting for at least one percent of total U.S. imports of softwood
lumber by quantity, as classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 4407.1100, 4407.1200, 4407.1300,
4407.1400, and 4407.1900, during the period July 1, 2024 through
December 31, 2024. Official U.S. import data, published by the United
States International Trade Commission's DataWeb, indicate that four
countries (Brazil, Canada, Germany, and Sweden) 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 six-month
periods to identify the countries subject to future reports on softwood
lumber subsidies. For example, we intend to rely on U.S. imports of
softwood lumber and softwood lumber products during the period January
1, 2025, through June 30, 2025, to select the countries subject for the
next report.
Under U.S. trade law, a subsidy exists where an authority: (i)
provides a financial contribution; (ii) provides any form of income or
price support within the meaning of Article XVI of the General
Agreements on Tariffs and Trade 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.\1\
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\1\ See section 771(5)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.
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Parties should include in their comments: (1) the country which
provided the subsidy; (2) the name of the subsidy program; (3) a brief
description (no more than 3-4 sentences) of the subsidy program; and
(4) the government body or authority that provided the subsidy.
Dated: April 7, 2025.
Christopher Abbott,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2025-06146 Filed 4-9-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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