DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-58,540

CYTECH HARDWOODS, INC.
AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK

Notice of Negative Determination
on Reconsideration

On March 17, 2006, the Department issued an Affirmative
Determination Regarding Application for Reconsideration for the
workers and former workers of the subject firm. The Department’s
Notice of determination was published in the Federal Register on
March 29, 2006 (71 FR 15766). Workers produce hardwood lumber
and hardwood flooring and are not separately identifiable by
product line.
The initial negative determination was issued because the
“contributed importantly” group eligibility requirement of
Section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, was not met.
The investigation revealed that the subject firm did not shift
production abroad and neither the subject firm nor any of the
major declining customers increased their imports of hardwood
lumber during the relevant period. The subject firm ceased
production in December 2005.
In the request for reconsideration, the company official
stated that the subject firm’s customers are “importing finished
goods . . . therefore, they no longer purchase domestic lumber to
support finished goods.”
Since the initial investigation did not address the issue of
hardwood flooring imports, the Department issued an Affirmative
Determination Regarding Application for Reconsideration for the
workers and former workers of the subject firm.
In order to establish import impact, the Department must
consider imports that are like or directly competitive with those
produced at the subject firm. As such, the Department conducted
another survey of the customers of their purchases of hardwood
lumber and hardwood flooring. The expanded survey revealed no
imports of either product during the relevant period.
Based on the company official’s allegation in the request
for reconsideration, the Department investigated whether the
workers of the subject firm are eligible for Trade Adjustment
Assistance (TAA) based on the secondary upstream supplier impact.
For certification on the basis of the workers’ firm being an
upstream supplier, the subject firm must have customers that are
TAA certified, and these TAA certified customers must represent a
significant portion of subject firm’s business. In addition, the
subject firm would have to produce a component part of the
product that was the basis for the customers’ certification.
A search of the TAA database revealed that, for the relevant
period, none of the subject firm’s major declining customers are
TAA certified. As such, the subject worker group is not eligible
for TAA under secondary impact.

In order for the Department to issue a certification of
eligibility to apply for Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance
(ATAA), the worker group must be certified eligible to apply for
TAA. Since the workers are denied eligibility to apply for TAA,
the workers cannot be certified eligible for ATAA.
Conclusion
After reconsideration, I affirm the original notice of
negative determination of eligibility to apply for worker
adjustment assistance and alternative trade adjustment assistance
for workers and former workers of CyTech Hardwood, Inc.,
Amsterdam, New York.
Signed at Washington, D.C. this 31st day of May 2006

/s/ Elliott S. Kushner

_
ELLIOTT S. KUSHNER
Certifying Officer, Division of
Trade Adjustment Assistance
Assistance