Canadian Lumber Exporters Say They Should Be Allowed to Intervene in CBP Administrative Review Case

Canadian softwood lumber exporters argued Monday that they should be able to intervene in a growing case regarding the Commerce Department’s 2021 administrative review of the antidumping duties on their products (Government of Canada v. U.S., CIT # 23-00187).

AJ Forest Products, ER Probyn Export, Rayonier A.M. Canada G.P., and Scierie Alexandre Lemay & Fils replied to U.S. opposition to their intervention at the Court of International Trade.

In a previous filing, the U.S. said the companies' intervention would be against federal antidumping regulations. While U.S. federal courts require any intervenor in a case to be “party to the proceeding,” antidumping regulations narrow that requirement further to necessitate “active” participation, defined as the intervenor having submitted either “factual information or written argument” during the proceeding (see 2311280056).

None of the proposed plaintiff-intervenors did so, and so their intervention should be denied, the U.S. said.

The exporters said Dec. 4 that those antidumping regulations don't require the court to deviate from the statute itself. Under the plain meaning of “party to the proceeding” in the relevant statute, their intervention was clearly acceptable because each exporter sought to be involved at the outset of CBP’s administrative review and was subject to resulting duties, they said.

However, even if the antidumping regulations were followed, the exporters said they fulfilled the regulations’ requirements. Each exporter included factual information in their written requests for administrative review that Commerce subsequently relied upon, they said.

CIT Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves previously has allowed intervention of domestic lumber producer Sierra Pacifica and the Committee Overseeing Action for Lumber International Trade Investigations or Negotiations as defendant-intervenors. She also has allowed Canfor Corporation, Canadian Forest Products, Canfor Wood Products Marketing, Carrier Lumber, Carrier Forest Products, Olympic Industries Inc., Olympic Industries Ulc. and the government of Ontario to intervene as plaintiff-intervenors.