Notice2024-30693
Phosphate Fertilizers From the Kingdom of Morocco: Notice of Amended Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2022
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 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is amending the final results of the administrative review of the countervailing duty order on phosphate fertilizers (fertilizers) from the Kingdom of Morocco (Morocco) to correct a ministerial error. The period of review (POR) is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 247 (Thursday, December 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 247 (Thursday, December 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 104979-104981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30693]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-714-001]
Phosphate Fertilizers From the Kingdom of Morocco: Notice of
Amended Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review;
2022
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is amending the
final results of the administrative review of the countervailing duty
order on phosphate fertilizers (fertilizers) from the Kingdom of
Morocco (Morocco) to correct a ministerial error. The period of review
(POR) is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.
DATES: Applicable December 26, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Faris Montgomery or Jaron Moore, AD/
CVD Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
[[Page 104980]]
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1537
or (202) 482-3640, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5), on November 7, 2024,
Commerce disclosed its calculations to interested parties and provided
interested parties with the opportunity to submit ministerial error
comments.\1\ On November 12, 2024, OCP S.A. (OCP) submitted an
allegation of a ministerial errors in the Final Results.\2\ On November
18, 2024, the Mosaic Company submitted rebuttal comments in response to
OCP's ministerial error allegations.\3\ On November 12, 2024, Commerce
published its final results of administrative review.\4\
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\1\ See Memorandum, ``Deadline for Ministerial Error Comments
for the Final Results,'' dated November 7, 2024.
\2\ See Phosphate Fertilizers from the Kingdom of Morocco: Final
Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2022, 89 FR
88952 (November 12, 2024) (Final Results), and accompanying Issues
and Decision Memorandum (IDM); see also OCP's Letter, ``Ministerial
Error Comments and Comments on Draft Customs Instructions,'' dated
November 12, 2024 (Ministerial Error Allegations).
\3\ See Mosaic Company's Letter, ``Rebuttal to OCP's Ministerial
Error Allegations to the Final Determination,'' dated November 18,
2024.
\4\ See Final Results IDM.
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Legal Framework
Section 751(h) of the Act, defines a ``ministerial error'' as
including ``errors in addition, subtraction, or other arithmetic
function, clerical errors resulting from inaccurate copying,
duplication, or the like, and any other unintentional error which the
administering authority considers ministerial.'' With respect to final
results of administrative reviews, 19 CFR 351.224(e) provides that
Commerce ``will analyze any comments received and, if appropriate,
correct any ministerial error by amending . . . the final results of
review . . .''
Ministerial Error
Commerce has determined that one of the two errors alleged by OCP
constitutes a ministerial error within the meaning of section 751(h) of
the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(f). In its ministerial error allegations,
OCP alleges that, with regard to the provision of phosphate mining
rights for less than adequate remuneration (LTAR) program, Commerce:
(1) did not include OCP's allocated debt costs in OCP's total cost of
production when calculating OCP's profit for phosphate rock; and (2)
should have calculated a simple average of two datasets provided by
different parties for a third-market country from the same business
proprietary data source, as Commerce did with two datasets provided
from the same business proprietary data source for another third-market
country.\5\
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\5\ See generally Ministerial Error Allegations.
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For the calculation of the simple average of two datasets, we
disagree with OCP and find that not averaging the datasets was a
methodological decision and not a ministerial error. However, Commerce
agrees that, in the Final Results, we did not include the allocated
cost of OCP's debt in OCP's total cost of production when calculating
OCP's profit to determine the price OCP paid for phosphate rock in the
provision of phosphate mining rights for LTAR program as we intended.
Commerce determines that this constitutes a ministerial error in the
Final Results pursuant to section 751(h) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.224(f) and is amending the Final Results with respect to the
phosphate mining rights for LTAR benefit calculation to correct the
ministerial error in the calculation of the ad valorem subsidy rate.
The revised net subsidy rate is provided below.
For a complete discussion of the ministerial error allegations, as
well as Commerce's analysis, see the accompanying Ministerial Error
Memorandum.\6\ The Ministerial Error 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>.
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\6\ See Memorandum, ``Ministerial Error Allegation in the Final
Results,'' dated concurrently with this notice (Ministerial Error
Memorandum).
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Amended Final Results
As a result of correcting the ministerial error, we determine that
the countervailable subsidy rate for the producer/exporter under review
to be as follows:
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\7\ Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned
with OCP S.A.: Jorf Fertilizers Company I; Jorf Fertilizers Company
II; Jorf Fertilizers Company III; Jorf Fertilizers Company IV; Jorf
Fertilizers Company V; and OCP Nutricrops S.A.
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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OCP S.A.\7\............................................ 16.60
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Disclosure
We intend to disclose to parties in this proceeding, under
administrative protective order, the calculations performed for these
amended final results within five days after publication of this notice
in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Assessment Rates
Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.212(b)(2), Commerce has determined, and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) shall assess, countervailing duties on all appropriate
entries of subject merchandise in accordance with the amended final
results of this review, for the above-listed company at the applicable
ad valorem assessment rate. We intend to issue assessment instructions
to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of the
amended final results of this review in the Federal Register. However,
OCP has filed a summons at the U.S. Court of International Trade
challenging the Final Results. Therefore, our assessment instructions
will direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for
parties to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e.,
within 90 days of publication).
Cash Deposit Requirements
In accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends
to instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing
duties in the amount shown for OCP on shipments of the subject
merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or
after the date of publication of the amended final results of this
administrative review. The cash deposit requirement, effective upon the
publication of the amended final results of this review, shall remain
in effect until further notice.
Administrative Protective Order (APO)
This notice also serves as a final reminder to parties subject to
an APO of their responsibility concerning the return or destruction of
proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/destruction of
APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO
is a sanctionable violation.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing this notice in accordance with
sections 751(h) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.224(e).
[[Page 104981]]
Dated: December 17, 2024.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2024-30693 Filed 12-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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