U.S. continues Canadian lumber import investigations

The U.S. International Trade Commission said there’s a “reasonable indication” that imports of softwood lumber products from Canada are subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value.    The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Friday said there’s a “reasonable indication” that imports of softwood lumber products from Canada are subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value, harming U.S. producers.
   As a result of the ITC’s affirmative determinations, the Commerce Department will continue its antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of these products from Canada. Commerce’s countervailing duty determination is due by Feb. 20, while its preliminary antidumping duty determination will be completed by May 4.
   Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than fair market value, while a countervailable subsidy is financial assistance from a foreign government that is contingent on a domestic company’s export performance and use of domestic goods over imported goods.
   The petitioner for the investigation is the Committee Overseeing Action for Lumber International Trade Investigations or Negotiations (COALITION), which is an ad-hoc association whose members include the U.S. Lumber Coalition of Washington, D.C.; Collum’s Lumber Products in South Carolina; Hankins in Mississippi; Weyerhaeuser Co. and Potlatch Corp. of Washington; Rex Lumber Co. in Florida; Sullivan Forestry Consultants in Georgia; Seneca Sawmill Co., Stimson Lumber Co., Swanson Group, Carpenters Industrial Council and Giustina Land and Timber Co. of Oregon; and Sierra Pacific Industries of California.
   According to Commerce, imports of softwood lumber from Canada in 2015 were valued at $4.5 billion.