Notice2022-28009
Certain Lemon Juice From Brazil: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
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
December 23, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that certain lemon juice (lemon juice) from Brazil is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 246 (Friday, December 23, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 246 (Friday, December 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78939-78941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28009]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-351-858]
Certain Lemon Juice From Brazil: Final Affirmative Determination
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
certain lemon juice (lemon juice) from Brazil is being, or is likely to
be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV).
DATES: Applicable December 23, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lilit Astvatsatrian or Dakota Potts,
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) 482-6412 or (202)
482-0223, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 4, 2022, Commerce published in the Federal Register the
Preliminary Determination in this investigation.\1\ A summary of the
events that occurred since Commerce published the Preliminary
Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues raised by
interested parties for this final determination, may be found in the
Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\
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\1\ See Certain Lemon Juice from Brazil: Preliminary Affirmative
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of
Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures, 87 FR
47697 (August 4, 2022) (Preliminary Determination), and accompanying
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the
Final Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigation of Certain Lemon Juice from Brazil,'' dated
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and
Decision Memorandum).
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Period of Investigation
The period of investigation is October 1, 2020, through September
30, 2021.
Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is lemon juice from
Brazil. 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 briefs and rebuttal briefs submitted
by interested parties in this proceeding are discussed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues raised by parties and
responded to by Commerce in the Issues and Decision Memorandum is
attached to this notice
[[Page 78940]]
as Appendix II. The Issues and Decision Memorandum is a public document
and is available 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 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 conducted verification of the information relied upon in
making its final determination in this investigation with respect to
Louis Dreyfus Company Sucos S.A. (LDC) and Citrus Juice Eireli (Citrus
Juice) in accordance with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (the Act).\3\ Specifically, Commerce conducted on-site
verifications of the third country market sales, U.S. sales, and cost
of production responses submitted by LDC and Citrus Juice.
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\3\ See Memoranda, ``Verification of the Sales Response of
Citrus Juice Eireli in the Antidumping Investigation of Certain
Lemon Juice from Brazil,'' dated September 30, 2022; ``Verification
of the Sales Questionnaire Response of Louis Dreyfus Company Sucos
S.A. in the Antidumping Investigation of Certain Lemon Juice from
Brazil,'' dated October 5, 2022; ``Verification of the Cost Response
of Citrus Juice Eireli in the Less Than Fair Value Investigation of
Certain Lemon Juice from Brazil,'' dated October 18, 2022; and
``Verification of the Cost Response of Louis Dreyfus Company Sucos
S.A. in the Lower-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain Lemon
Juice from Brazil,'' dated October 21, 2022.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our analysis of the comments received and additional
information obtained since our preliminary findings, we made certain
changes to the margin calculation for Citrus Juice and LDC after the
Preliminary Determination. For a discussion of these changes, see the
Issues and Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B)(i)(I) of the Act, we
calculated an individual estimated weighted-average dumping margin for
the two mandatory respondents, Citrus Juice and LDC. Section
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act states that, for companies not individually
investigated, Commerce will determine estimated all-others 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 any zero and de minimis margins,
and any rates determined entirely on facts otherwise available under
section 776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated a de minimis rate for
LDC. Therefore, the only rate that is not zero, de minimis, or based
entirely on facts otherwise available is the rate calculated for Citrus
Juice. Consequently, the rate calculated for Citrus Juice is also
assigned as the rate for all other producers and exporters.
Final Determination
The estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Citrus Juice Eireli......................................... 22.31
Louis Dreyfus Company Sucos S.A............................. 0.00
All Others.................................................. 22.31
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis
performed to interested parties in this final 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).
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue the
suspension of liquidation of all appropriate entries of lemon juice, as
described in Appendix I of this notice, which were entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after August 4, 2022,
the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination in this
investigation in the Federal Register.
Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act, we 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 each of the respondents listed in the table above
is the company-specific cash deposit rate listed for the respondent in
the table; (2) if the exporter is not a respondent listed in the table
above, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate is the company-
specific cash deposit rate listed for the producer of the subject
merchandise in the table above; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all
other producers and exporters is the all-others cash deposit rate
listed in the table above. These suspension of liquidation instructions
will remain in effect until further notice.
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its final affirmative
determination of sales at LTFV. Because the final determination in this
proceeding 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, by importation of lemon juice from
Brazil, no later than 45 days after our final determination. If the ITC
determines that material injury or threat of material injury does not
exist, the proceeding will be terminated, all cash deposits will be
refunded, and suspension of liquidation will be lifted. 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.
Administrative Protective Order
This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely notification of the
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 subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: December 19, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is certain lemon
juice. Lemon juice is covered: (1) with or without addition of
preservatives, sugar, or other sweeteners; (2) regardless of the GPL
(grams per liter of citric
[[Page 78941]]
acid) level of concentration, brix level, brix/acid ratio, pulp
content, clarity; (3) regardless of the grade, horticulture method
(e.g., organic or not), processed form (e.g., frozen or not-from-
concentrate), the size of the container in which packed, or the
method of packing; and (4) regardless of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standard of identity
(as defined under 19 CFR 146.114 et seq.) (i.e., whether or not the
lemon juice meets an FDA standard of identity).
Excluded from the scope are: (1) lemon juice at any level of
concentration packed in retail-sized containers ready for sale to
consumers; and (2) beverage products, such as lemonade, that contain
20 percent or less lemon juice as an ingredient by actual volume.
``Retail-sized containers'' are defined as lemon juice products sold
in ready-for-sale packaging (e.g., clearly visible branding,
nutritional facts listed, etc.) containing up to 128 ounces of lemon
juice by actual volume.
The scope also includes certain lemon juice that is blended with
certain lemon juice from sources not subject to this investigation.
Only the subject lemon juice component of such blended merchandise
is covered by the scope of this investigation. Blended lemon juice
is defined as certain lemon juice with two distinct component parts
of differing country(s) of origin mixed together to form certain
lemon juice where the component parts are no longer individually
distinguishable.
The product subject to this investigation is currently
classifiable under subheadings 2009.31.4000, 2009.31.6020,
2009.31.6040, 2009.39.6020, and 2009.39.6040 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. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
VI. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Application of Adverse Facts Available (AFA) for
Citrus Juice
Comment 2: Whether Commerce's Preliminary Adjustment to the Net
Realizable Value (NRV) of Citrus Juice's Lemon Coproducts was
Correct
Comment 3: Affiliations between LDC and Its Supplier
Comment 4: Revision to the Adjustment for Affiliated
Transactions
Comment 5: Financial Statements for the Period Cost Calculations
Comment 6: Revisions to LDC's Reported Cost for Verification
Findings and Material Price Difference Adjustments
Comment 7: Whether Commerce Should Include LDC's Parent Company
General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses in the Reported G&A
Expenses
Comment 8: Margin Calculation Methodology for LDC
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2022-28009 Filed 12-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 23, 2022.
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