U.S. Commerce Seeks Comments on Foreign Softwood Lumber Subsidies

T​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​he U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is seeking public comments on subsidies, including stumpage subsidies, provided by countries that export softwood lumber and softwood lumber products to the U.S. In a Federal Register notice posted on October 29, 2026, Commerce is asking for information on subsidies provided by Brazil, Canada, Germany, and Sweden between January 1 and June 30, 2026. Under the Softwood Lumber Act of 2008, Commerce must report these subsidies to Congress every 180 days. Interested parties have until November 30, 2026, to submit comments through Regulations.gov.

Subsidy as Defined by Commerce

Under Section 771(5)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, a subsidy may involve a government financial contribution, income or price support, or a government-directed contribution through a private entity. The contribution must confer a benefit to qualify as a subsidy under the law.

Information Required for Public Comments

Commerce asks parties submitting comments to provide the following details about each subsidy program:

1. The country that provided the subsidy.
2. The name of the subsidy program.
3. A brief description of the program, limited to three or four sentences.
4. The government body or authority that provided the subsidy.

How to Submit Comments

Submit comments through Regulations.gov under Docket No. ITA-2026-0100 by November 30, 2026. Commerce accepts attachments in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PDF formats.

Commerce will make comments and attachments publicly available, including personal and contact information. Do not include information you do not want disclosed.

For its next report, Commerce plans to use U.S. softwood lumber import data from July 1 through December 31, 2026, to identify countries that meet the 1% import threshold.

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