FACT SHEET

Preliminary Affirmative Determination:
Countervailing Duty Investigation on
Certain Softwood Lumber Products from Canada

On Friday, August 10, 2001, the Department of Commerce will announce its preliminary affirmative determination in the countervailing duty investigation on certain softwood lumber products from Canada.

BACKGROUND
The Department received a petition to initiate a countervailing duty investigation on imports of softwood lumber from Canada on April 2, 2001. After reviewing the allegations contained in the petition, the Department initiated its investigation on April 23, 2001.

On July 27, 2001, the Department of Commerce announced that it was exempting the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland (the Maritime provinces) from the countervailing duty investigation.

Included in its preliminary determination, the Department also announced its preliminary affirmative finding of critical circumstances.

PETITIONERS
The petition was filed by the Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports Executive Committee. In addition, on April 20, 2001, the petition was amended to include the following four companies individually as petitioners: Moose River Lumber Co., Shearer Lumber Products, Shuqualak Lumber Co. and Tolleson Lumber Co., Inc.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The products covered by these investigations are softwood lumber, flooring and siding (softwood lumber products). Softwood lumber products include all products classified under headings 4407.1000, 4409.1010, 4409.1090, and 4409.1020, respectively, of the HTSUS, and any softwood lumber, flooring and siding described below. These softwood lumber products include:

(1) coniferous wood, sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or finger-jointed, of a thickness exceeding six millimeters;

(2) coniferous wood siding (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rabbeted, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or finger-jointed;

(3) other coniferous wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rabbeted, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges or faces (other than wood mouldings and wood dowel rods) whether or not planed, sanded or finger-jointed; and

(4) coniferous wood flooring (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring,
not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rabbeted, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or finger-jointed.

Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise under investigation is dispositive.

Excluded from this investigation are imports of softwood lumber from the Canadian Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland (the Maritime Provinces). This exemption does not apply to softwood lumber products produced in the Maritime Provinces from Crown timber harvested in any other Province.

NET SUBSIDY RATE

The preliminary net countervailable subsidy rate is 19.31 percent ad valorem on all imports of subject merchandise.

VOLUME AND VALUE OF IMPORTS

YEAR	VOLUME (MMBF)	VALUE (U.S.)
1999	18,244	$7,213,585,000
2000	18,333	$6,379,336,000

Source: Data are from the IM-145 data, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census.

WEBSITE ADDRESS:

By Monday, August 13, the Department will post its preliminary determination on the Import Administration website at the following address: www.ia.ita.doc.gov