Notice2021-21338
Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes From Mexico; Preliminary Results of 2019-2020 Administrative Review
Primary source
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Published
October 1, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that the respondents selected for individual examination, Bioparques De Occidente, S.A. de C.V. and its affiliates (Bioparques), Del Campo Y Asociados SA de CV and its affiliates (Del Campo), and Productora Agricola Industrial del Noroeste, SA de CV (Productora Agricola) and its affiliates (collectively Grupo Pinos), are in compliance with the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico (2019 Agreement), for the period September 19, 2019, through August 31, 2020, and that the 2019 Agreement is meeting the statutory requirements under the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 188 (Friday, October 1, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 188 (Friday, October 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54424-54425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21338]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-201-820]
Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh
Tomatoes From Mexico; Preliminary Results of 2019-2020 Administrative
Review
AGENCY: Enforcement & Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that the respondents selected for individual examination, Bioparques De
Occidente, S.A. de C.V. and its affiliates (Bioparques), Del Campo Y
Asociados SA de CV and its affiliates (Del Campo), and Productora
Agricola Industrial del Noroeste, SA de CV (Productora Agricola) and
its affiliates (collectively Grupo Pinos), are in compliance with the
Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh
Tomatoes from Mexico (2019 Agreement), for the period September 19,
2019, through August 31, 2020, and that the 2019 Agreement is meeting
the statutory requirements under the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act).
DATES: Applicable October 1, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon or David Cordell,
Enforcement & Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20230, telephone: (202) 482-0162 or (202) 482-0408, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On September 19, 2019, Commerce signed an agreement \1\ under
section 734(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), with
representatives of Mexican fresh tomato producers/exporters \2\
accounting for substantially all imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico,
suspending the antidumping duty (AD) investigation on fresh tomatoes
from Mexico.\3\
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\1\ See Fresh Tomatoes From Mexico: Suspension of Antidumping
Duty Investigation, 84 FR 49987 (September 24, 2019) (2019
Agreement).
\2\ The Mexican signatories are predominately represented by the
following associations: Asociacion Mexicana de Horticultura
Protegida, A.C., Asociacion de Productores de Hortalizas del Yaqui y
Mayo, Confederacion de Asociaciones Agricolas del Estado de Sinaloa,
A.C., Consejo Agricola de Baja California, A.C., and Sistema
Producto Tomate.
\3\ Id.
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On September 25, 2020, the Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE),\4\ a
member of the U.S. petitioning industry, filed a request for an
administrative review of the 2019 Agreement.\5\ On September 30, 2020,
Bioparques and Negocio Agricola San Enrique S.A. de C.V. (NASE) also
requested reviews.\6\
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\4\ The members of the FTE are as follows: Ag-Mart Produce, Inc.
dba Santa Sweets, Inc., Classie Produce, DiMare Homestead, Inc.,
DiMare Ruskin, Inc., Gargiulo, Inc., Kern Carpenter Farms, Lipman
Family Farms, Mecca Family Farms, Inc., Michael Borek Farms, Pacific
Tomato Growers, Ltd., Taylor & Fulton Packing, LLC, Tomatoes of
Ruskin, Inc., TomPak, LLC, and West Coast Tomato, LLC.
\5\ See Letter from FTE, ``Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico: Request
for Administrative Review,'' dated September 25, 2020.
\6\ See Letter from Bioparques and Letter from NASE, both
entitled ``Suspension Agreement on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico--
Request for Administrative Review,'' each dated September 30, 2020.
Bioparques and NASE explained they had requested reviews primarily
to review each of the company's own sales, and ``the amount of any .
. . dumping margin involved in the {suspension{time} agreement.''
Pursuant to section 751(a)(1)(c) of the Act, Commerce reviews ``the
current status of, and compliance with, any agreement by reason of
which an investigation was suspended, and review the amount of any .
. . dumping margin involved in the agreement, in administrative
reviews. . . .'' Because there is no dumping margin involved in the
2019 Agreement, in conducting this administrative review, we are not
calculating new margins for the companies under review, as we would
in an administrative review of an order. Rather, in addition to
examining compliance with the terms of the agreement, generally, we
are examining whether for the sales during the period of review the
respondents complied with the price undertakings specified in
section VI of the 2019 Agreement, i.e., not making sales below the
Reference Prices established in Appendix A and eliminating the
required percentage of dumping from the original investigation,
i.e., 85 percent.
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The review of the 2019 Agreement was initiated on October 30,
2020.\7\ Commerce inadvertently identified the period of review (POR)
as September 1, 2019, through August 31, 2020, but corrected the POR on
January 7, 2021, to reflect the period from September 19, 2019 to
August 31, 2020.\8\ On January 7, 2021, Commerce selected mandatory
respondents and issued its questionnaire to the three largest
respondents, listed here in alphabetical order: Bioparques, Del Campo,
and Productora Agricola.\9\
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\7\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 85 FR 68841 (October 30, 2020).
\8\ See Memorandum, ``2019-2020 Administrative Review of the
2019 Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on
Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico: Respondent Selection and Corrected
Period of Review'' (January 7, 2021). See also Initiation of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 86 FR
8166 (February 4, 2021) at footnote 10. As the 2019 Agreement was
signed on September 19, 2019, this date is the beginning of the POR.
\9\ Id. See also questionnaires issued individually to
Bioparques, Del Campo and Productora Agricola, each dated January 7,
2021.
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Scope of the 2019 Agreement
Merchandise covered by the 2019 Agreement is typically imported
under the following heading of the HTSUS: Tomatoes imported from Mexico
covered by this Agreement are classified under the following subheading
of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States (HTSUS),
according to the season of importation: 0702. The tariff classification
is provided for convenience and customs purposes; however, the written
description of the scope of this 2019 Agreement is dispositive.\10\
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\10\ For a complete description of the Scope of the 2019
Agreement, see Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Results of the 2019-2020 Administrative Review of the Agreement
Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from
Mexico,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology and Preliminary Results
Commerce has conducted this review in accordance with section
751(a)(1)(C) of the Act, which specifies that Commerce shall ``review
the current status of, and compliance with, any agreement by reason of
which an
[[Page 54425]]
investigation was suspended.'' In this case, Commerce and
representatives of the Mexican tomato producers/exporters accounting
for substantially all imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico signed the
2019 Agreement, which suspended the underlying antidumping duty
investigation, on September 19, 2019. Pursuant to the 2019 Agreement,
the Mexican signatories agreed that the subject merchandise would be
subject to minimum reference prices and that at least 85 percent of the
dumping from the original investigation would be eliminated.\11\ The
Mexican signatories also agreed to other conditions, including
quarterly audits,\12\ near-the-border inspections by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture on all Round and Roma tomatoes and certain
other types of tomatoes beginning on April 4, 2020,\13\ and limits to
adjustments to the sales price due to certain changes in condition and
quality after shipment.\14\
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\11\ See 2019 Agreement, 84 FR at 49990, at Price Undertaking.
\12\ See 2019 Agreement, 84 FR at 49991, at Compliance
Monitoring.
\13\ Id. at Inspection of Subject Merchandise. See also
Memorandum, ``Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Inspections,''
dated March 17, 2020.
\14\ See 2019 Agreement, 84 FR 49996 at Appendix D.
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After reviewing the information received to date from the
respondent companies in their questionnaire and supplemental
questionnaire responses, we preliminarily determine that the
respondents have adhered to the terms of the 2019 Agreement, except for
certain instances of inadvertent and/or inconsequential noncompliance,
and that the 2019 Agreement is functioning as intended. Further, we
preliminarily determine that the 2019 Agreement continues to meet the
statutory requirements under sections 734(c) and (d) of the Act. For a
full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum. Commerce is addressing proprietary
issues concerning each of the respondents in separate memoranda which
we incorporate into the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\15\
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\15\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 6 and footnote 47.
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Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(3)(a) of the Act, Commerce intends to
verify the information relied upon in making its final results.
Normally, Commerce verifies information using standard procedures,
including an on-site examination of original accounting, financial, and
sales documentation. While we consider the possibility of conducting an
on-site verification for some of the information submitted by the
respondents, we may also need to verify the information relied upon in
making the final results through alternative means in lieu of an on-
site verification. Commerce intends to notify parties of its
verification procedures.
Public Comment
Interested parties will be notified of the timeline for the
submission of case briefs and written comments at a later date.
Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be
submitted no later than seven days after the deadline date for case
briefs.
Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its
requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary
information, until further notice.\16\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2)
and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this
investigation are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A
statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a
table of authorities.\17\
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\16\ See Temporary Rule, 85 FR 17006; see also Temporary Rule
Modifying ADICVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of
Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
\17\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce within 30 days
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made,
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be
determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative
review, including the results of its analysis of the issues raised in
any written briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of
publication of this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the
Act, unless extended.
We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: September 24, 2021.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations.
[FR Doc. 2021-21338 Filed 9-30-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 1, 2021.
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