Notice2022-21868
Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes From Mexico; Preliminary Results of 2020-2021 Administrative Review
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
October 7, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that the respondents selected for individual examination, International Greenhouse Produce, S.A. de C.V. (IGP) and Negocio Agricola San Enrique, S.A. de C.V. and its affiliates (NASE), as a whole complied with the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico (2019 Agreement), for the period of review (POR) September 1, 2020, through August 31, 2021, except for certain instances of inconsequential or inadvertent noncompliance. We preliminarily determine that such noncompliance does not materially frustrate the purposes of the 2019 Agreement; however, we intend to address such noncompliance of the respondent IGP by engaging in Operations Consultations pursuant to Section VII.G the 2019 Agreement. Commerce also preliminarily determines that the 2019 Agreement continued to meet the statutory requirements under sections 734(c) and (d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) during the POR.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 194 (Friday, October 7, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 194 (Friday, October 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60994-60995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21868]
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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 2020-2021 Administrative
Review
AGENCY: Enforcement & Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that the respondents selected for individual examination,
International Greenhouse Produce, S.A. de C.V. (IGP) and Negocio
Agricola San Enrique, S.A. de C.V. and its affiliates (NASE), as a
whole complied with the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty
Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico (2019 Agreement), for the
period of review (POR) September 1, 2020, through August 31, 2021,
except for certain instances of inconsequential or inadvertent
noncompliance. We preliminarily determine that such noncompliance does
not materially frustrate the purposes of the 2019 Agreement; however,
we intend to address such noncompliance of the respondent IGP by
engaging in Operations Consultations pursuant to Section VII.G the 2019
Agreement. Commerce also preliminarily determines that the 2019
Agreement continued to meet the statutory requirements under sections
734(c) and (d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) during
the POR.
DATES: Applicable October 7, 2022.
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 a suspension agreement \1\
under section 734(c) of the Act, with representatives of Mexican fresh
tomato producers/exporters accounting for substantially all imports of
fresh tomatoes from Mexico, suspending the antidumping duty (AD)
investigation on fresh tomatoes from Mexico.\2\
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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.
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On September 17, 2021, the Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE),\3\ a
member of the U.S. petitioning industry, filed a request for an
administrative review of the 2019 Agreement.\4\ Commerce initiated the
review of the 2019 Agreement on November 5, 2021.\5\ On February 3,
2022, Commerce selected mandatory respondents and issued its
questionnaire to two respondents, listed here in alphabetical order:
International Greenhouse Produce and Negocio Agricola San Enrique,
S.A.\6\
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\3\ 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.
\4\ See FTE's Letter, ``Request for Administrative Review,''
dated September 17, 2021.
\5\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 86 FR 61121 (November 5, 2021).
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection and Corrected Period
of Review,'' dated February 3, 2022.
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Scope of the 2019 Agreement
Merchandise covered by the 2019 Agreement is typically 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.\7\
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\7\ For a complete description of the Scope of the 2019
Agreement, see Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Results of the 2020-2021 Administrative Review: 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
[[Page 60995]]
status of, and compliance with, any agreement by reason of which an
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 to sell subject merchandise at or above
certain minimum reference prices, and that their pricing would
eliminate at least 85 percent of the dumping determined in the
antidumping duty investigation.\8\ The Mexican signatories also agreed
to other conditions, including quarterly audits,\9\ 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,\10\ and limits to adjustments to the sales price due to certain
changes in condition and quality after shipment.\11\
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\8\ See 2019 Agreement, 84 FR at 49990, at Price Undertaking.
\9\ Id., 84 FR at 49991, at Compliance Monitoring.
\10\ Id. at Inspection of Subject Merchandise; see also
Memorandum, ``Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Inspections,''
dated March 17, 2020.
\11\ 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 inconsequential or inadvertent noncompliance that
does not materially frustrate the purposes of the 2019 Agreement. We
intend to address such noncompliance of the respondent IGP by engaging
in Operations Consultations pursuant to Section VII.G of the 2019
Agreement. We also preliminarily determine that the 2019 Agreement is
functioning as intended and 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 analysis underlying our conclusions,
see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. Commerce examines issues
involving the discussion of proprietary information concerning each of
the respondents in separate memoranda which we incorporate into the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\12\ A list of topics discussed in the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as an appendix to this
notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is
on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS).
ACCESS is available to registered users at <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>. In
addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can
be accessed directly at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
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\12\ See Memoranda, ``Preliminary Analysis of Proprietary
Information and Argument Regarding International Greenhouse
Produce,'' dated concurrently with this notice; and ``Preliminary
Analysis of Proprietary Information and Argument Regarding Negocio
Agricola San Enrique S.A. and its Affiliates,'' dated concurrently
with this notice.
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Verification
As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, Commerce may 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, as
applicable.
Public Comment
Case briefs are due 30 days from the publication of these
preliminary results in the Federal Register. Rebuttal briefs, limited
to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven
days after the deadline date for case briefs.\13\ 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.\14\ All briefs must be filed
electronically using ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be
received successfully in its entirety by the established deadline. Note
that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for
serving documents containing business proprietary information, until
further notice.\15\
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\13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1).
\14\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
\15\ See Temporary Rule.
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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.\16\ 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. Issues raised in the hearing will be
limited to those raised in the respective case and rebuttal briefs. 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.
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\16\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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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.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: September 30, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Scope of the 2019 Agreement
III. Background
IV. Preliminary Results of Review
V. Discussion of the Issues
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2022-21868 Filed 10-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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