Notice2022-07995
Raw Honey From Argentina: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 14, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of raw honey from Argentina are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation, April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 72 (Thursday, April 14, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 72 (Thursday, April 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22179-22182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07995]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-357-823]
Raw Honey From Argentina: Final Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value and Final Affirmative Determination of Critical
Circumstances
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports
of raw honey from Argentina are being, or are likely to be, sold in the
United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of
investigation, April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021.
DATES: Applicable April 14, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Martin or Eva Kim, AD/CVD
Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3936 or (202) 482-8283,
respectively.
[[Page 22180]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On November 23, 2021, Commerce published its preliminary
determination in the LTFV investigation of raw honey from Argentina,
and also postponed the final determination until April 7, 2022.\1\
Commerce invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary
Determination. For a complete description of the events that followed
the Preliminary Determination, see the Issues and Decision
Memorandum.\2\
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\1\ See Raw Honey from Argentina: Preliminary Affirmative
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, Postponement of
Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures, 86 FR
66531 (November 23, 2021) (Preliminary Determination), and
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM).
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the
Final Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigation of Raw Honey from Argentina,'' dated concurrently
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is raw honey from
Argentina. For a complete description of the scope of this
investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
No interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as
it appeared in the Preliminary Determination. Therefore, no changes
were made to the scope of the investigation.
Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs that were
submitted by parties in this investigation are addressed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum. For a list of the issues raised by interested
parties and addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, see
Appendix II to this notice.
The Issues and Decision Memorandum is a public document and is made
available to the public via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping
and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS).
ACCESS is available to registered users at <a href="http://access.trade.gov">http://access.trade.gov</a>. In
addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can
be accessed directly at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
Verification
Commerce was unable to conduct on-site verification of the
information relied upon in making its final determination in this
investigation. However, we took additional steps in lieu of an on-site
verification to verify the information relied upon in making this final
determination, in accordance with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act).\3\
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\3\ See Commerce's Letters, ``Remote Verification
Questionnaire,'' dated December 6, 2021; and ``Remote Verification
Questionnaire,'' dated December 13, 2021; see also NEXCO's Letter,
``Raw Honey from Argentina. Case No. 4-357-823: Remote Verification
Questionnaire Response for NEXCO S.A. and * * *,'' dated December
15, 2021; and ACA's Letter, ``Raw Honey from Argentina, Case No. A-
357-823: Remote Verification Questionnaire Response for
Asociaci[oacute]n de Cooperativas Argentinas C.L. and * * *,'' dated
December 22, 2021.
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Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances
In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206,
Commerce preliminarily determined that critical circumstances existed
with respect to imports of raw honey from Argentina produced and
exported by Asociaci[oacute]n de Cooperativas Argentinas Cooperativa
Limitada (ACA), Industrias Haedo S.A. (Haedo), and
Compa[ntilde][iacute]a Inversora Platense S.A. (CIPSA) and all other
producers and exporters.\4\ Commerce did not receive any comments in
response to its preliminary determination with respect to critical
circumstances. Accordingly, for the final determination and based on
our preliminary analysis, we continue to find that critical
circumstances exist in the final determination.\5\ For a further
discussion of our critical circumstances analysis, see Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
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\4\ For a full description of the methodology and results of
Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see Preliminary
Determination Memorandum at 12-17 and Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty
Investigation of Raw Honey from Argentina: Preliminary Critical
Circumstances Surge Analysis,'' dated November 17, 2021 (Preliminary
Critical Circumstances Analysis).
\5\ See Preliminary Critical Circumstances Analysis; and
``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Raw Honey from Argentina: Final
Critical Circumstances Surge Analysis,'' dated April 7, 2022.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on the comments received from interested parties and record
information, we made certain changes to our calculations of the dumping
margins for ACA and NEXCO S.A. (NEXCO). For a discussion of these
changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
Use of Adverse Facts Available
Both mandatory respondents, Haedo and CIPSA, notified Commerce that
it would not participate in this investigation.\6\ Therefore, in the
Preliminary Determination, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the
Act, we assigned to Haedo and CIPSA the highest Petition margin based
on adverse facts available (AFA).\7\ No party filed comments concerning
the Preliminary Determination with respect to Haedo and CIPSA, and
there is no new information on the record that would cause us to
revisit the Preliminary Determination. Accordingly, we continue to find
that the application of AFA pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the
Act is warranted with respect to these companies. Consistent with the
Preliminary Determination, Commerce has continued to assign to Haedo
and CIPSA the highest Petition margin, which is 49.44 percent. We also
are applying partial AFA in calculating the weighted-average dumping
margin for ACA, under sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. For a full
description of Commerce's partial AFA analysis, see the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
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\6\ See Haedo's Letter, ``Raw Honey from Argentina: Explanation
of Unique Circumstances,'' dated June 10, 2021; and CIPSA's Letter,
``Raw Honey from Argentina, Case No. A-357-823: Compa[ntilde]ia
Inversora Platense S.A. Notification of Non-Participation,'' dated
June 21, 2021.
\7\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 8-11.
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All-Others Rate
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and exporters
not individually investigated shall be equal to the weighted average of
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding rates that
are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the
Act. Pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, if the estimated
weighted-average dumping margins established for all of the exporters
and producers individually examined are zero, de minimis or determined
based entirely on facts available, Commerce may use any reasonable
method to establish the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for
all other producers or exporters not individually investigated.
Commerce calculated individual estimated weighted-average dumping
margins for ACA and NEXCO, two of the mandatory respondents which were
examined as exporters/producers in this investigation. Because ACA and
NEXCO's calculated dumping margins are not zero, de minimis, or based
entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce calculated the all-
others rate using a simple average of the
[[Page 22181]]
estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for ACA and
NEXCO,\8\ pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
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\8\ With more than one respondent under examination, Commerce
normally calculates: (A) A weighted-average of the estimated
weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined
respondents; (B) a simple average of the estimated weighted-average
dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a
weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins
calculated for the examined respondents using each company's
publicly-ranged U.S. sale values for the merchandise under
consideration. Commerce then compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects
the rate closest to (A) as the most appropriate rate for all other
producers and exporters. See Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of
Changed-Circumstances Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75
FR 53661, 53663 (September 1, 2010). As complete publicly-ranged
sales data were available, Commerce based the all-others rate on the
publicly-ranged sales data of the mandatory respondents. For a
complete analysis of the data, see Memorandum, ``Less Than Fair
Value Investigation of Raw Honey from Argentina: Preliminary
Determination Calculation for the All-Others,'' dated November 19,
2021.
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Final Determination
The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as
follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asociaci[oacute]n De Cooperativas Argentinas Cooperativa 24.67
Limitada...................................................
NEXCO S.A................................................... 9.17
Industrias Haedo S.A........................................ 49.44
Compa[ntilde][iacute]a Inversora Platense S.A............... 49.44
All Others.................................................. 16.92
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Disclosure
We intend to disclose the calculations performed in this final
determination within five days of the date of publication of this
notice to parties in this proceeding in accordance with 19 CFR
351.224(b).
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to
suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of raw honey from
Argentina, as described in Appendix I of this notice, which are
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after
November 23, 2021, the date of publication in the Federal Register of
the affirmative Preliminary Determination.
Section 735(c)(4) of the Act provides that if there is an
affirmative determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of
liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the
later of: (a) The date which is 90 days before the date on which the
suspension of liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date on which
notice of initiation of the investigation was published. As noted
above, Commerce finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of
subject merchandise produced and/or exported by ACA, Haedo, CIPSA, and
all other producers and exporters. Therefore, in accordance with
section 735(c)(4) of the Act, suspension of liquidation shall continue
to apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise produced and/or
exported by ACA, Haedo, CIPSA, and by all other producers and exporters
that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or
after the date which is 90 days before the date of publication of the
Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register.
Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(d), we will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the
estimated weighted-average dumping margin as follows: (1) The cash
deposit rate for the respondent listed above will be equal to the
respondent-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin
determined in this final determination; (2) if the exporter is not a
respondent identified above but the producer is, then the cash deposit
rate will be equal to the respondent-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin established for that producer of the subject
merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and
exporters will be equal to the all-others estimated weighted-average
dumping margin. These suspension-of-liquidation instructions will
remain in effect until further notice.
International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the
International Trade Commission (ITC) of this final affirmative
determination of sales at LTFV. Because Commerce's final determination
is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, the
ITC will make its final determination as to whether the domestic
industry in the United States is materially injured, or threatened with
material injury, no later than 45 days after this final determination.
If the ITC determines that such injury does not exist, this proceeding
will be terminated, and all cash deposits posted will be refunded. If
the ITC determines that material injury or threat of material injury
does exist, Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order directing CBP
to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties on
all imports of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the
suspension of liquidation.
Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders
This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the destruction of proprietary information disclosed under
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely notification of
return or destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial
protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the
regulations and the terms of an APO is a violation which is subject to
sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination and notice are issued and published pursuant to
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: April 7, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is raw honey. Raw
honey is honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by
extraction, settling and skimming, or coarse straining. Raw honey
has not been filtered to a level that results in the removal of most
or all of the pollen, e.g., a level that removes pollen to below 25
microns. The subject products include all grades, floral sources and
colors of raw honey and also include organic raw honey.
Excluded from the scope is any honey that is packaged for retail
sale (e.g., in bottles or other retail containers of five (5) lbs.
or less).
The merchandise subject to this investigation is currently
classifiable under statistical subheading 0409.00.0005,
0409.00.0035, 0409.00.0045, 0409.00.0056, and 0409.00.0065 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although
the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs
purposes, the written description of the scope of this investigation
is dispositive.
Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Final Affirmative Determination of
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Critical Circumstances
IV. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
V. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Use of Exporters' Acquisition Price as a Reasonable
Proxy for the Beekeepers' Cost of Production
Comment 2: Whether To Use Quarterly or Monthly Cost Averaging
Periods
Comment 3: Whether Commerce's Inflation Methodology Requires the
Use of Monthly Sales Comparisons in Investigations When Sales Prices
in Both Markets Are Denominated in U.S. Dollars and Where the Only
Difference in Merchandise Adjustment (Homogenization) Has Been
Weight Averaged Over the Period
Comment 4: When Using Acquisition Costs, Whether Commerce Should
Lag Acquisition Costs by Two Months
Comment 5: Adjustments to Commerce's Alternative Cost Averaging
Methodology
Comment 6: Whether Commerce's Use of the Differential Pricing
Analysis or the Cohen's d Test Comports With the Federal Circuit's
Recent Decision in Stupp
Comment 7: Whether Commerce Should Treat ACA's and NEXCO's
SENASA-Related Expenses as a U.S. Price Deduction Instead of as
Circumstance of Sale Adjustment
Comment 8: Cost of Production Calculation for ACA's Middleman
Supplier
Comment 9: Whether To Continue To Apply Facts Available (AFA)
for ACA's Non-Responsive Direct Beekeeper Supplier and ACA's
Middleman Beekeeper Supplier
Comment 10: ACA's Financial Expenses
Comment 11: Whether Commerce Should Incorporate Bad Debt
Expenses Within ACA's Financial Expenses
Comment 12: ACA's General and Administrative Expenses
Comment 13: Whether Commerce Should Correct Ministerial Errors
in the Calculation of ACA's Margin for the Final Determination
Comment 14: Errors in NEXCO's Reported Direct Material Costs
Comment 15: Errors in Commerce's Direct Material Cost
Calculations for NEXCO
Comment 16: Whether Commerce Should Revise NEXCO's Indirect
Selling Expenses
Comment 17: Whether Commerce Should Treat NEXCO's Export Taxes
as a U.S. Price Deduction Instead of as a Circumstance of Sale
Adjustment
Comment 18: Whether Commerce Should Add a Price Deduction
Variable to NEXCO's U.S. Sales Database
Comment 19: Whether To Apply Partial AFA to NEXCO Due to the
Unusable Cost Responses Submitted by Its Beekeeper Suppliers
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2022-07995 Filed 4-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 14, 2022.
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