Office of the United States Trade Representative April 10, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA), Canada agreed to impose export measures on Canadian exports of softwood lumber products to the United States. At the request of the United States, an arbitral tribunal established under the SLA found that Canada had not complied with certain SLA obligations, and in February 2009 the tribunal issued an award concerning the remedy to be applied. In order to enforce U.S. rights under the SLA, the United States Trade Representative (``Trade Representative'') has initiated an investigation under Section 302 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (``Trade Act''). In that investigation, the USTR has (i) Determined that Canada is denying U.S. rights under the SLA; (ii) found that expeditious action is required to enforce U.S. rights under the SLA; and (iii) determined that appropriate action under Section 301 of the Trade Act is to impose 10 percent ad valorem duties on imports of softwood lumber products from the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, as set out in the annex to this notice. The duties will remain in place until such time as the United States has collected $54.8 million, which is the amount determined by the arbitral tribunal. Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the determinations in this investigation, and to participate in a public hearing in the event a hearing is requested.