The Commerce Department seeks public comments on any subsidies, including stumpage subsidies, paid by certain countries that exported softwood lumber to the U.S. Jan. 1 through June 30, 2022, it said in a notice released Oct. 26. The Softwood Lumber Act of 2008 requires Commerce to submit a report every 180 days on any subsidy provided by nations exporting softwood lumber or softwood products to the U.S., including subsidies for stumpage. Commerce is seeking input on subsidies paid by countries whose exports composed at least 1% of total U.S. softwood imports by quantity, as classified under tariff schedule subheadings 4407.1100, 4407.1200, 4407.1300, 4407.1400, and 4407.1900, the agency said. International Trade Commission Tariff and Trade DataWeb information indicates that six countries -- Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Romania and Sweden -- exported that much softwood lumber to the U.S. during that six-month period. Comments are due Nov. 27.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is postponing by an additional year an upcoming requirement that foreign countries and fisheries be found comparable in marine mammal protections for their fish and fish products to be eligible for import into the U.S., the agency said in a notice released Oct. 20. The extension until Dec. 31, 2023, comes as the NMFS considers “applications for comparability findings from 132 nations and for 2504 foreign fisheries,” a process that has been slowed by time delays in communications with foreign counterparts and translation of submitted responses.
The Commerce Department on Oct. 6 released its quarterly update to its annual list of foreign government subsidies on imported articles of cheese subject to an in-quota rate of duty Jan. 1 through March 31, 2022. The agency again found that only Canada is providing subsidies, in the form of export assistance.