Petition to United States Government to Launch Investigation on Imports of Certain Canadian Softwood Lumber Products

On November 25, 2016, the Committee Overseeing Action for Lumber International Trade Investigations or Negotiations (COALITION) filed petitions with the United States Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission, requesting the initiation of countervailing, anti-dumping and injury investigations into imports of certain softwood lumber products from Canada.

The COALITION alleges that the Canadian federal and provincial governments are providing countervailable subsidies to Canadian softwood lumber producers, and that these subsidized exports are causing injury or threaten to cause injury to U.S. lumber producers.

The petition named stumpage programs and log export restraints, as well as a number of federal government and provincial government non-stumpage programs, as sources of the alleged subsidies.

The anti-dumping petition alleges that Canadian firms are dumping lumber into the U.S. market, essentially selling lumber products in the United States for less than they sell them in Canada, or selling these products below the cost of production. The COALITION alleges that dumped exports are causing injury or threaten to cause injury to U.S. lumber producers.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is expected to make a decision on whether it will initiate countervailing duty and anti-dumping investigations within 20 days of the filing of the petition. The Government of Canada intends to hold consultations with Commerce within the 20 day period concerning the allegations in the petition prior to the initiation of an investigation.