1.0 The purpose of this Notice is to provide clarification respecting policy on under-utilization of export level for softwood lumber exports from Canada to the United States pursuant to the Canada-United States Agreement on Softwood Lumber that came into effect April 1, 1996.

1.1 This Notice shall remain valid until further notice.

2.0 In accordance with paragraph 11.7 of the Notice to Exporters, No. 94 of October 31, 1996, a softwood lumber exporter who foresees under-utilizing its export level allocation in a given year covered by the Agreement, may elect to return any portion of the exporter's established base (EB) and/or lower fee base (LFB) allocation up to 10 % of the exporter's initial allocation by notifying the Export and Import Controls Bureau (EICB), in writing, by December 31 in the affected year. To be clear, an exporter may return EB allocation up to 10 % of its initial EB allocation, and/or LFB allocation up to 10 % of its initial LFB allocation.

2.1 In the calculation of export level allocation for the following year, no under-utilization formula will be applied against a returned portion which does not exceed 10 % of the exporter's initial allocation. The exporter's actual total exports and returned export level will be taken into account in the calculation of export level allocation for the year following an election to return export level: if together they amount to 98 % of the exporter's initial allocation, the exporter will be considered to have achieved full utilization.

2.2 When an exporter gives notice of return of a portion of its export level allocation, the exporter must provide the following information:

• the exporter's EICB number;
• the amounts being returned, by EB and/or LFB allocation; and
• if the exporter is a remanufacturer with export level allocations from more than one province, the exporter must identify the account(s) for which the exporter wishes to return a portion or portions of export level.

3.0 Companies wishing to return portions of their allocation may do so by faxing and/or writing to: