Notice2025-19029
Raw Honey From Brazil: Preliminary Results and Rescission, in Part, of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2023-2024
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
September 30, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping (AD) order on raw honey from Brazil for the period of review (POR) June 1, 2023, through May 31, 2024. Commerce preliminarily finds that Melbras Importadora E Exportadora Agroind[uacute]stria Ltda. (Melbras) and Minamel Agroind[uacute]stria Ltda. (Minamel) made sales of subject merchandise at prices below normal value (NV) during the POR. Additionally, we are rescinding this review, in part, with respect to certain companies for which there were no reviewable entries of subject merchandise during the POR, and for which requests for review were timely withdrawn. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 187 (Tuesday, September 30, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 30, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46797-46800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-19029]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-351-857]
Raw Honey From Brazil: Preliminary Results and Rescission, in
Part, of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2023-2024
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is conducting an
administrative review of the antidumping (AD) order on raw honey from
Brazil for the period of review (POR) June 1, 2023, through May 31,
2024. Commerce preliminarily finds that Melbras Importadora E
Exportadora Agroind[uacute]stria Ltda. (Melbras) and Minamel
Agroind[uacute]stria Ltda. (Minamel) made sales of subject merchandise
at prices below normal value (NV) during the POR. Additionally, we are
rescinding this review, in part, with respect to certain companies for
which there were no reviewable entries of subject merchandise during
the POR, and for which requests for review were timely withdrawn. We
invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.
DATES: Applicable September 30, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Frye or Braeden Lowe, AD/CVD
Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3035 or (202) 482-2000,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 29, 2024, Commerce initiated an administrative review of
the antidumping duty (AD) order on raw honey from Brazil, in accordance
with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).\1\
This review covers 22 producers/exporters of subject merchandise.\2\
Commerce selected two
[[Page 46798]]
mandatory respondents for individual examination, Melbras and
Minamel.\3\
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\1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 89 FR 60871 (July 29, 2024) (Initiation
Notice); see also Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, and the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Antidumping Duty Orders, 87 FR 35501
(June 10, 2022) (Order), as amended by Raw Honey from Brazil: Notice
of Court Decision Not in Harmony With the Final Determination of
Antidumping Duty Investigation; Notice of Amended Final
Determination; Notice of Amended Antidumping Duty Order, 90 FR 9225
(February 10, 2025) (Amended Final).
\2\ See Initiation Notice.
\3\ See Memoranda, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated August 23,
2024, and ``Selection of Additional Respondent,'' dated October 9,
2024.
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On December 9, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this
administrative proceeding by 90 days \4\ and, on May 2, 2025, Commerce
extended the time limit for completing the preliminary results of this
review until September 25, 2025.\5\ For a complete description of the
events that followed the initiation of the review, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.\6\
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\4\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated December 9, 2024.
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated May 2,
2025.
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Results of the Administrative Review of the Antidumping Duty Order
on Raw Honey from Brazil; 2023-2024,'' dated concurrently with, and
hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order
The product covered by the scope of this Order is raw honey from
Brazil. For a full description of the scope of the Order, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an
administrative review, in whole or in part, if a party that requested a
review withdraws the request within 90 days of the date of publication
of the initiation of the requested review. Because interested parties
timely withdrew all review requests for Apis Nativa Agroindustrial
Exportadora Ltda (Apis Nativa), we are rescinding this review, in part,
with respect to Apis Nativa.
Additionally, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), when there are no
reviewable entries of subject merchandise during the POR subject to the
AD order for which liquidation is suspended, Commerce may rescind an
administrative review, in whole or only with respect to a particular
exporter or producer.\7\ At the end of the administrative review, any
suspended entries are liquidated at the assessment rate computed for
the review period.\8\ Therefore, for an administrative review to be
conducted, there must be at least one reviewable, suspended entry that
Commerce can instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to
liquidate at the newly calculated assessment rate. On October 7, 2024,
Commerce notified all interested parties of its intent to rescind this
review with respect to certain companies because those companies had no
reviewable, suspended entries of subject merchandise and invited
parties to comment.\9\ We received no comments on our intent to rescind
the review with respect to these companies.
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\7\ See, e.g. Forged Steel Fittings from Taiwan: Rescission of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2018-2019, 85 FR 71317,
71318 (November 9, 2020); see also Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy
Steel Pipe from Mexico: Rescission of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review; 2016-2017, 83 FR 54084 (October 26, 2018).
\8\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
\9\ See Memorandum, ``Revised Notice of Intent to Rescind
Review, in Part,'' October 7, 2024, at Attachments I and II.
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Accordingly, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), (3), and (4), we are
rescinding this administrative review, in part, with respect to Apis
Nativa and the seven additional companies listed in Appendix III to
this notice that had no reviewable, suspended entries of subject
merchandise during the POR.
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section
751(a) of the Act. We calculated export price and constructed export
price in accordance with sections 772(a) and 772(b) of the Act,
respectively. We calculated NV in accordance with section 773 of the
Act.
For a full description of the methodology underlying these
preliminary results, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of
topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as
Appendix I to this notice. The Preliminary 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
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is available at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
Rate for Non-Examined Companies
The Act and Commerce's regulations do not address the establishment
of a rate to be applied to companies not selected for examination when
Commerce limits its examination in an administrative review pursuant to
section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. Generally, Commerce looks to section
735(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the
all-others rate in a market economy investigation, for guidance when
calculating the rate for companies which were not selected for
individual examination in an administrative review. Under section
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, the all-others rate is normally ``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
margins determined entirely'' on the basis of facts available.
We preliminarily calculated weighted-average dumping margins for
Melbras and Minamel that are not zero, de minimis, or determined
entirely on the basis of facts available. Therefore, Commerce assigned
a margin to the non-selected companies based on the simple average of
the weighted average dumping margins preliminarily calculated for the
two mandatory respondents, as listed below.\10\
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\10\ 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
either the (B) or (C) rate based on the rate closest to (A) as the
most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. See,
e.g., 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). For a complete analysis of the data, see
Memorandum, ``Preliminary Calculation of Rate for Non-Selected
Companies,'' dated September 25, 2025.
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Preliminary Results of the Review
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following weighted-
average dumping margins exist for the period June 1, 2023, through May
31, 2024:
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Weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Melbras Importadora E Exportadora Agroind[uacute]stria Ltda. 3.94
Minamel Agroind[uacute]stria Ltda........................... 12.13
Non-Examined Companies \11\................................. 8.04
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in
connection with these preliminary results to interested parties within
five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this
[[Page 46799]]
notice in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
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\11\ See Appendix II for a list of these companies.
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Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.\12\ Pursuant to 19
CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), we have modified the deadline for interested
parties to submit case briefs to Commerce no later than 21 days after
the date of the publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, limited to
issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than five days
after the date for filing case briefs.\13\ Interested parties who
submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit:
(1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of
authorities.
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\12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for
general filing requirements).
\13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29,
2023) (APO and Service Procedures).
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As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an
executive summary of their briefs that should be limited to five pages
total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that
interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public,
executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\14\ Further,
we request that interested parties limit their executive summary of
each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We
intend to use the executive summaries as the basis of the comment
summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will
accompany the final results in this review. We request that interested
parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the executive
summary of each issue. Note that Commerce has amended certain of its
requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR
351.303(f).\15\
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\14\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\15\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing 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: (1) the party's name, address, and telephone number;
(2) the number of participants and whether any participant is a foreign
national; and (3) a list of the issues to be discussed. Issues raised
in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the respective case
briefs. Oral presentations at the hearing will be limited to issues
raised in the briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, parties will
be notified of the time and date for the hearing.\16\ 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(d).
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All submissions, including case and rebuttal briefs, as well as
hearing requests, should be filed via ACCESS.\17\ An electronically
filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by ACCESS
by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established deadline.
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\17\ See 19 CFR 351.303.
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Assessment Rates
Upon completion of the final results of this administrative review,
Commerce shall determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on
all appropriate entries covered by this review. If a respondent's
weighted-average dumping margin is not zero or de minimis (i.e., less
than 0.5 percent) in the final results of this review, we will
calculate importer-specific assessment rates based on the ratio of the
total amount of dumping calculated for the importer's examined sales to
the total entered value of those same sales in accordance with 19 CFR
351.212(b)(1). If either respondent's weighted-average dumping margin
is zero or de minimis in the final results of review, or if an
importer-specific assessment rate is zero or de minimis, Commerce will
instruct CBP to liquidate appropriate entries without regard to
antidumping duties. The final results of this review shall be the basis
for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise
covered by this review and for future deposits of estimated duties,
where applicable.\18\
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\18\ See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.
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In accordance with Commerce's ``automatic assessment'' practice,
for entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by Melbras
or Minamel for which these companies did not know that the merchandise
was destined for the United States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate
those entries at the all-others rate established in the amended final
of the original less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation (i.e., 9.38
percent),\19\ if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies)
involved in the transaction.\20\ For the companies which were not
selected for individual review, we will assign an assessment rate based
on the review-specific average rate, calculated as noted in the
``Preliminary Results of Review'' section above.
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\19\ See Amended Final, 90 FR at 9226.
\20\ For a full description of this practice, see Antidumping
and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping
Duties, 68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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For the companies listed in Appendix II which were not selected for
individual examination, we will assign an assessment rate based on the
review-specific rate, calculated as noted in the ``Rate for Companies
Not Individually Examined'' section, above. The final results of this
review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on
entries of merchandise covered by the final results of this review and
for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.\21\
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\21\ See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.
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For the companies listed in Appendix III for which the review is
rescinded, we will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on any
suspended entries that entered under their CBP case numbers (i.e., at
that exporter's rate) at a rate equal to the cash deposit of estimated
antidumping duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from
warehouse, for consumption, during the POR.
Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier
than 35 days after the publication date of the final results of this
review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at the
U.S. Court of International Trade, the 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
The following cash deposit requirements will be effective for all
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the
final results of this administrative review, as provided by
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for the companies
listed in the final results of this review will be equal to the
weighted-average dumping margins established in the final results of
this review, except if the rate is less than 0.50 percent and,
therefore, de minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), in
which case the cash deposit rate will be zero; (2) for merchandise
exported by a company not covered in this review, but covered in a
prior segment of the proceeding, the cash deposit rate will be the
company-specific rate published for the most recently-completed segment
in which it was reviewed; (3) if the exporter is not
[[Page 46800]]
a firm covered in this review or in the original LTFV investigation,
but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate
established for the most recently-completed segment of this proceeding
for the producer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for
all other producers or exporters will continue to be 9.38 percent, the
all-others rate established in the LTFV investigation.\22\ These cash
deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until
further notice.
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\22\ See Amended Final, 90 FR at 9226.
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Final Results of Review
Unless otherwise extended, 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, no later than 120
days after the date of publication of this notice, pursuant to section
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).
Notification to Importers
This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to the
liquidation of the relevant entries during the POR. Failure to comply
with this requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent
assessment of double antidumping duties.
Notification to Interested Parties
Commerce is issuing and publishing these preliminary results in
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR
351.213(h)(2) and 351.221(b)(4).
Dated: September 25, 2025.
Christopher Abbott,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Currency Conversion
VI. Recommendation
Appendix II
List of Companies Not Individually Examined
1. Annamell Imp. E Exp. De Produtos Apicolas Ltda.
2. Apidouro Comercial Exportadora e Importadora Ltda.
3. Api[aacute]rios Adams Agroindustrial Comercial Exportadora Ltda.
4. Breyer & Via Ltda.
5. Central de Cooperativas Ap[iacute]colas do Semi[aacute]rido
Brasileiro--CASA APIS.
6. Conexao Agro Ltda. ME.
7. Cooperativa Mista Dos Apicultores D.
8. Flora Nectar Ind. Comp. Imp. E Exp. De Mel Ltda
9. Lambertucci
10. Matrunita
11. S&A Honey Ltda EPP.
12. Wenzel's Apicultura Comercio Industria Importacao Exportacao
Ltda. aka Wenzel's Apicultura.
Appendix III
Companies Rescinded from Administrative Review
1. Apis Nativa Agroindustrial Exportadora Ltda.
2. Api[aacute]rio Diamante Comercial Exportadora Ltda./
Api[aacute]rio Diamante Produc[atilde]o e Comercial de Mel Ltda.
3. Carnauba do Brasil Ltda.
4. Nectar Floral
5. Novomel
6. Safe Logistics.
7. Samel Honey
8. STM Trading
[FR Doc. 2025-19029 Filed 9-29-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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