Notice2022-23924
White Grape Juice Concentrate From Argentina: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
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Published
November 3, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that white grape juice concentrate (WGJC) from Argentina is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 212 (Thursday, November 3, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 212 (Thursday, November 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66269-66272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23924]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-357-825]
White Grape Juice Concentrate From Argentina: Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional
Measures
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that white grape juice concentrate (WGJC) from Argentina is
being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair
value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2021,
through December 31, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on
this preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable November 3, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myrna Lobo or Jacob Saude, AD/CVD
Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2371 or (202) 482-0981,
respectively.
[[Page 66270]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on April 27,
2022.\1\ On August 24, 2022, Commerce postponed the preliminary
determination of this investigation until October 27, 2022. \2\
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\1\ See White Grape Juice Concentrate from Argentina: Initiation
of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 87 FR 24934 (April 27, 2022)
(Initiation Notice).
\2\ See White Grape Juice Concentrate from Argentina:
Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigation, 87 FR 51969 (August 24, 2022).
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For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum is included as Appendix II 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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\3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of White
Grape Juice Concentrate from Argentina'' dated concurrently with,
and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is white grape juice
concentrate from Argentina. For a complete description of the scope of
this investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ No interested party
commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the
Initiation Notice. Commerce is not preliminarily modifying the scope
language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.\6\
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\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
\5\ See Initiation Notice.
\6\ Although Commerce received comments within this deadline
from Delano Growers Grape Products, LLC (the petitioner), these
comments did not relate to the scope language published in the
Initiation Notice. See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petition for the
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: White Grape
Juice Concentrate from Argentina,'' dated May 24, 2022.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Constructed export prices
have been calculated in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act.
Normal value is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act.
For a full description of the methodology underlying the preliminary
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in
the preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually
examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding rates that
are zero or de minimis, or that are determined entirely under section
776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated estimated weighted-
average dumping margins for Cepas Argentinas S.A. (Cepas) and
Federacion de Cooperativas Vitivinicolas Argentinas Coop. Ltda.
(Fecovita), the two mandatory respondents, that are not zero, de
minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. Commerce
calculated the all-others rate using a weighted average of the
estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined
respondents using each company's publicly-ranged values for the
merchandise under consideration.\7\
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\7\ With two respondents 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. sales
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, 53662
(September 1, 2010), and accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum, at Comment 1; see also Memorandum, ``Calculation of the
All-Others Rate for the Preliminary Determination,'' dated October
27, 2022.
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Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
weighted-average dumping margins exist:
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Cash deposit rate
Estimated weighted- (adjusted for
Producer/exporter average dumping subsidy offsets)
margin (percent) (percent) \1\
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Cepas Argentinas S.A........ 12.21 8.50
Federacion de Cooperativas 27.17 23.77
Vitivinicolas Argentinas
Coop. Ltda \2\.............
All Others.................. 19.43 15.88
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\1\ In the preliminary determination of the companion countervailing
duty (CVD) proceeding, Commerce found that certain of the programs
conferring a benefit to the two mandatory respondents, Cepas and
Fecovita, were export contingent subsidies. In accordance with section
772(c)(1)(C) of the Act, we have preliminarily relied on the CVD rates
of 3.71 and 3.40 percent (i.e., the rates only related to export
contingent subsidies) calculated for Cepas and Fecovita, respectively,
as well as the CVD all others rate of 3.55 percent, for purposes of
determining the preliminary antidumping duty cash deposit rate. See
White Grape Juice Concentrate from Argentina: Preliminary Affirmative
Countervailing Duty Determination, 87 FR 54455 (September 6, 2022),
and accompanying calculation memoranda for Cepas, Fecovita, and all
others.
\2\ Fecovita is also known as ``Fecovita Coop. Ltd.'' See Memorandum,
``Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of White Grape Juice Concentrate
from Argentina: Respondent Selection,'' dated June 7, 2022.
[[Page 66271]]
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant
to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the estimated weighted-
average dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows:
(1) The cash deposit rate for the respondents listed above will be
equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping
margins determined in this preliminary 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 company-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. Commerce normally adjusts cash
deposits for estimated antidumping duties by the amount of export
subsidies countervailed in a companion CVD proceeding, when CVD
provisional measures are in effect. Accordingly, where Commerce
preliminarily made an affirmative determination for countervailable
export subsidies, Commerce has offset the estimated weighted-average
dumping margin by the appropriate CVD rate. Any such adjusted cash
deposit rate may be found in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section
above.
Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation
expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV
investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting estimated
antidumping duty cash deposits unadjusted for countervailed export
subsidies at the time that the provisional CVD measures expire. These
suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until
further notice.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination
within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this
notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven
days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in
this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case
briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the deadline
date for case briefs.\8\ 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. Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its
requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary
information, until further notice.\9\
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\8\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general
filing requirements).
\9\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due
to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period,
85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
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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.
Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by
the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations
requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months
in duration.
On October 14 and 17, 2022, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Fecovita
and Cepas requested that Commerce postpone the final determination and
that provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six
months.\10\ In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19
CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) the preliminary determination is
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters account for a significant
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling
reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final
determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-month
period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce
will make its final determination no later than 135 days after the date
of publication of this preliminary determination.
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\10\ See Fecovita's Letter, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of
White Grape Juice Concentrate from Argentina: Request to Extend
Final Determination,'' dated October 14, 2022; see also Cepas's
Letter, ``Antidumping Investigation of White Grape Juice Concentrate
from Argentina: Request for Extension of Deadline for Final
Determination, In Event of Affirmative Preliminary Determination,''
dated October 17, 2022.
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U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material
injury to, the U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c) and 19
CFR 351.210(g).
[[Page 66272]]
Dated: October 27, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation
The scope of this investigation covers white grape juice
concentrate with a Brix level of 65 to 68, whether in frozen or non-
frozen forms. White grape juice concentrate is concentrated grape
juice produced from grapes of the Vitis vinifera L. species with a
white flesh, including fresh market table grapes and raisin grapes
(e.g., Thompson Seedless), as well as several varietals of wine
grapes (e.g., Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Colombard,
etc.). The scope of this investigation covers white grape juice
concentrate regardless of whether it has been certified as kosher,
organic, or organic kosher. The white grape juice concentrate
subject to this investigation consists of 100 percent grape juice
with no other types of juice intermixed and no additional sugars or
additives included.
The scope does not cover white grape juice concentrate produced
from grapes of the Vitis labrusca species (e.g., Niagara).
The products covered by this investigation are currently
classified under the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTSUS) subheadings: 2009.69.0040 and 2009.69.0060.
The HTSUS subheadings and specifications are provided for
convenience and customs purposes; the written description of the
scope is dispositive.
Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Scope Comments
VI. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
VII. Affiliation
VIII. Discussion of the Methodology
IX. Currency Conversion
X. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rates for Export Subsidies in
Companion Countervailing Duty Investigation
XI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2022-23924 Filed 11-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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