The U.S. Department of Commerce has postponed the final determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of softwood lumber from Canada until no later than November 14, 2017.
“I remain hopeful that we can reach a negotiated solution that satisfies the concerns of all parties,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This extension could provide the time needed to address the complex issues at hand and to reach an equitable and durable suspension agreement.”
The announcement from the Department of Commerce cited the complexity of these investigations and ongoing discussions between the Governments of the United States and Canada focusing on a durable solution to this long-standing trade dispute as reasons for postponing the decision.
In the meantime, countervailing duties that have been applied to Canadian producers for the past four months have ended. Some Canadian producers will continue to pay anti-dumping duties.
Commerce published its preliminary determinations in the CVD and AD investigations of softwood lumber from Canada on April 28, 2017, and June 30, 2017, respectively.
The U.S. International Trade Commissions (ITC) is conducting a parallel investigation to determine if the American producers have been harmed by the softwood lumber imports from Canada. If the Commerce Department’s final determinations are affirmative, and the ITC makes an affirmative final injury determination, the Commerce Department will issue AD and CVD orders. If the ITC does not find that U.S. producers have been harmed, then the investigations will end, and no duties will be collected.
Read a summary of the softwood lumber dispute from the Working Forest’s Summer #2 issue here.
