CVD/ADD GIVES BREAK TO CANADIAN SOFTWOOD LUMBER IMPORTERS

CVD/ADD GIVES BREAK TO CANADIAN SOFTWOOD LUMBER IMPORTERS    U.S. Customs sided with the import industry this week by excluding certain cuts of Canadian softwood lumber from the federal government’s countervailing duty/antidumping duty actions against this commodity.
   “Customs sided with our petition of Sept. 6, resulting in their arguing successfully with Commerce that Customs’ regulations, rulings and admissibility criteria regarding unassembled pallets and trusses, notched stringers, and six-inch fencing programs were not included in Commerce’s initial investigation,” said Michael Jones, president of Jones & Jones, LLC, a Blaine, Wash.-based customs broker.
   This means that these Canadian softwood lumber products can be imported under tariff headings other then 4407 and 4409, without incurring countervailing duty/antidumping duty liability and bonds.
   For example, customs brokers can code entries for unassembled pallets under tariff heading 4415, unassembled trusses under tariff heading 4418, and notched stringers and six-inch fencing programs under tariff heading 4421.
   On Aug. 10, the U.S. government imposed a preliminary 19.3-percent duty on Canadian softwood lumber imports, which was retroactive to mid-May. The duty could force Canadian lumber producers to pay more than $1 billion in duties, based on $10 billion in annual imports in the U.S. market.
   The U.S. government and lumber industry claims that provincial Canadian government subsidies and dumping have allowed Canadian lumber imports to sell at below market value. The provincial Canadian governments control about 95 percent of timber rights, while most of the U.S. timber is privately owned and sold at auction.