Export Certification; Heat Treatment of Solid Wood Packing Materials Exported to China

We are adopting as a final rule, with one change, an interim rule that amended the regulations by establishing a program under which softwood (coniferous) packing materials used with goods exported from the United States to China may be certified as having been heat treated. This program is necessary because the Government of the People's Republic of China has established a requirement that coniferous packing materials exported to China must be accompanied by such certification. The one change in this final rule clarifies that the required heat treatment must be performed in the United States, rather than in other countries. This rule affects persons who use coniferous packing materials to export goods from the United States to the People's Republic of China.