Certain Softwood Lumber Products From Canada: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Partial Rescission of Administrative Review, and Final Determination of No Shipments; 2023
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that producers and/or exporters subject to this administrative review sold subject merchandise at less than normal value du...
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that producers and/or exporters subject to this administrative review sold subject merchandise at less than normal value during the period of review (POR), January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023.
DATES:
Applicable July 29, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas Martin or Joshua Jacobson, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3936 or (202) 482-0266, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Commerce published the
Preliminary Results
on March 5, 2025.[1]
This review covers 261 producers/exporters of subject merchandise, including two mandatory respondents, Canfor and West Fraser (collectively, the mandatory respondents).[2]
The final weighted-average dumping margins are listed below in the “Final Results of Review” section of this notice. Commerce conducted this administrative review in accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For a detailed description of the events that occurred since the
Preliminary Results, see
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.[3]
Scope of the Order
The merchandise covered by this review is certain softwood lumber products from Canada. For a full description of the scope,
see
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
Partial Rescission of Administrative Review
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an administrative review, in whole or in part, if the party that requested a review withdraws its request within 90 days of the date of publication of the notice of initiation. All requests for an administrative review of Smartlam LLC were timely withdrawn within 90 days of the publication of the initiation notice for this review.[4]
As a result, Commerce is rescinding this review with respect to Smartlam LLC in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1).[5]
Additionally, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), Commerce will rescind an administrative review when there are no entries of subject merchandise during the POR for which liquidation is suspended. Normally, upon completion of an administrative review, the suspended entries are liquidated at the antidumping duty (AD) assessment rate calculated for the review period.[6]
Therefore, for an administrative review of a company to be conducted, there must be a suspended entry that Commerce can instruct and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to liquidate at the AD assessment rate calculated for the POR.[7]
In the absence of any suspended entries of subject merchandise from 53 companies that were initiated upon, we are rescinding the administrative review for these companies, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3). For a list of the companies for which we are rescinding this review,
see
Appendix III.
Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case briefs filed in this administrative review are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A list of the topics discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum is included in Appendix I of this notice. The Issues and Decision Memorandum is a public document and is available electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Services System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at
https://access.trade.gov.
In addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum is also accessible on the internet at
https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
Changes Since the Preliminary Results
Based on our review of the record and comments received from interested parties, we rescinded this review with regard to 53 companies, as we stated was our intent in a memorandum.[8]
In addition, we revised the names of certain respondents as identified in the
Preliminary Results,
and made certain changes to the dumping margin calculations for both the mandatory respondents. For a discussion of these changes,
see
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
Rate for Non-Selected Companies
Generally, when calculating margins for non-selected respondents, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act for guidance, which provides instructions for calculating the all-
( printed page 35667)
others rate in an investigation. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that when calculating the all-others rate, Commerce will exclude any zero and
de minimis
weighted-average dumping margins, as well as any weighted-average dumping margins based entirely on facts available. Accordingly, Commerce's usual practice has been to average the margins for selected respondents, excluding margins that are zero,
de minimis,
or based entirely on facts available.
In this review, we calculated a weighted-average dumping margin of 35.53 percent for Canfor and 9.65 percent for West Fraser. In accordance with section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, Commerce calculated the weighted-average, based on the mandatory respondents' publicly ranged sales data, of the mandatory respondents' calculated weighted-average dumping margins and assigned this rate to the non-selected companies in these final results.[9]
Accordingly, we have applied a rate of 20.56 percent to the non-selected companies.[10]
A list of all non-selected companies is included in Appendix II.
Final Results of Review
As a result of this administrative review, we are assigning the following weighted-average dumping margins to the manufacturers/exporters listed below for the POR, January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023:
Exporter/producer
Weighted-average
dumping margin
(percent)
Canfor Corporation/Canadian Forest Products Ltd./Canfor Wood Products Marketing Ltd./Canfor Fox Creek Ltd./Canfor Whitecourt Ltd
Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1), Commerce shall determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries of subject merchandise covered by this review.
We calculated importer- (or customer-) specific assessment rates on the basis of the ratio of the total amount of antidumping duties calculated for each importer's (or customer's) examined sales and the total entered value of the sales in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). Where an importer- (or customer-) specific rate is zero or
de minimis
within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.
Commerce's “reseller policy” will apply to entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by companies included in these final results of review for which the reviewed companies did not know that the merchandise they sold to the intermediary (
e.g.,
a reseller, trading company, or exporter) was destined for the United States. In such instances, we will instruct CBP to liquidate unreviewed entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction.[12]
For all non-selected companies listed in Appendix II, we will instruct CBP to liquidate all entries of subject merchandise that entered the United States during the POR at the average of the rates calculated for Canfor and West Fraser as listed above.
For the companies/entities listed in Appendix III, for which we are rescinding this administrative review, Commerce will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries at a rate equal to the cash deposit of estimated antidumping duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, during the period January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(1)(ii).
The final results of this administrative review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise under review and for future cash deposits of estimated duties, where applicable. Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 41 days after the date of publication of the final results of this review in the
Federal Register,
in accordance with 19 CFR 356.8(a).
Cash Deposit Requirements
The following cash deposit requirements will be effective for all shipments of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of these final results, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for the companies under review will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margin listed above in the “Final Results of Review” section; (2) for merchandise exported by producers or exporters not covered in this review but covered in a previously completed segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate published in the final results for the most recent period in which that producer or exporter participated; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review or in any previous segment of this proceeding, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be that established for the producer of the merchandise in these final results of review or in the final results for the most recent period in which that producer participated; and (4) if neither the exporter nor the producer is a firm covered in this review or in any previously completed segment of this proceeding, then the cash deposit rate will continue to be 6.04 percent
ad valorem,
the all-others rate established in the original less than fair value investigation.[13]
These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.
Notification to Importers
This notice serves as a final reminder to importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping and/or countervailing duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this
( printed page 35668)
requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping and/or countervailing duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of doubled antidumping duties, and/or an increase in the amount of antidumping duties by the amount of countervailing duties.
Administrative Protective Order (APO)
This notice is the only reminder to parties subject to an APO of their responsibility concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information disclosed under the APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3), which continues to govern business proprietary information in this segment of the proceeding. Timely written notification of the return or destruction of APO materials, or conversion to judicial protective order, is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a violation subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing these final results and this notice in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.213(h).
Dated: July 24, 2025.
Christopher Abbott,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Changes Since the
Preliminary Results
V. Differential Pricing Analysis
VI. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Whether Commerce Should Apply Adverse Facts Available (AFA) to West Fraser's Affiliated Log Purchases
Comment 2: Whether Commerce Should Correct Its Cost of Manufacturing (COM) Adjustment for West Fraser's Purchases of Logs from Affiliated Suppliers.
Comment 3: Whether Commerce Should Further Revise Canfor's Byproduct Offset Calculation
Comment 4: Whether Commerce Should Correct Its Adjustment to Canfor's COM Based on the `Swap' Transactions Between the Grande Prairie Sawmill and Canfor Green Energy
Comment 5: Whether Commerce Should Revise Its Determination Regarding Canfor's Alleged Purchase of Electricity from Canfor Pulp Products Inc. (CPPI) at the Northwood Facility
Comment 6: Whether Commerce Should Adjust Canfor's General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses Regarding Costs Related to Certain Mill Closures
Comment 7: Whether Commerce Should Make Adjustments to the Price Used to Establish Export Price (EP) and Constructed Export Price (CEP)
Comment 8: Whether Commerce Should Correct the List of Companies Under Review
Comment 9: Whether Commerce's Differential Pricing Methodology Is Unlawful
Comment 10: Whether Commerce Should Revise the Calculation of the Rate for Non-Selected Respondents
Comment 11: Whether Commerce Should Exclude Certain Selling Expenses from Canfor's G&A Expense Ratio
Comment 12: Whether Commerce Should Correct Its Byproduct Revenue Adjustment for West Fraser
2.
As described in the
Preliminary Results
PDM, we have treated West Fraser Mills Ltd., Blue Ridge Lumber Inc., Manning Forest Products Ltd., and Sundre Forest Products Inc. (collectively, West Fraser) and we have treated Canfor Corporation, Canadian Forest Products Ltd., and Canfor Wood Products Marketing Ltd., Canfor Fox Creek Ltd. and Canfor Whitecourt Ltd. (collectively, Canfor) as single entities.
See Preliminary Results
PDM at 5-6.
3.
See
Memorandum, “Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Final Results of the 2023 Administrative Review of the Antidumping Duty Order on Certain Softwood Lumber Products from Canada,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
7.
See, e.g., Shanghai Sunbeauty Trading Co.
v.
United States,
380 F. Supp. 3d 1328, 1335-36 (CIT 2019), at 12 (referring to section 751(a) of the Act, the U.S. Court of International Trade held that: “While the statute does not explicitly require that an entry be suspended as a prerequisite for establishing entitlement to a review, it does explicitly state the determined rate will be used as the liquidation rate for the reviewed entries. This result can only obtain if the liquidation of entries has been suspended . . .”;
see also Certain Frozen Fish Fillets from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final Determination of No Shipments; 2018-2019,86 FR 36102, and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 4; and
Solid Fertilizer Grade Ammonium Nitrate from the Russian Federation: Notice of Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,77 FR 65532 (October 29, 2012) (noting that “for an administrative review to be conducted, there must be a reviewable, suspended entry to be liquidated at the newly calculated assessment rate”).
9.
See
Memorandum, “Calculation of the Rate for Non-Selected Respondents,” dated concurrently with this notice. A list of the non-selected companies under review is included as Appendix II.
12.
For a full discussion of this practice,
see Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties,68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
13.
See Certain Softwood Lumber Products from Canada: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative Final Determination of Critical Circumstances,82 FR 51806 (November 8, 2017).
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
90 FR 35666
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Certain Softwood Lumber Products From Canada: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Partial Rescission of Administrative Review, and Final Determination of No Shipments; 2023,” thefederalregister.org (July 29, 2025), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2025-14298/certain-softwood-lumber-products-from-canada-final-results-of-antidumping-duty-administrative-review-partial-rescission-.