Sugar From Mexico; Institution of Five-Year Reviews, 65841-65844 [2019-25873]

Agencies

• INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 230 (Friday, November 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65841-65844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25873]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation Nos. 701-TA-513 and 731-TA-1249 (Review)]


Sugar From Mexico; Institution of Five-Year Reviews

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted 
reviews pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930 (``the Act''), as amended, 
to determine whether termination of the suspension investigation on 
sugar from Mexico would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence 
of material injury. Pursuant to the Act, interested parties are 
requested to respond to this notice by submitting the information 
specified below to the Commission.

DATES: Instituted November 29, 2019. To be assured of consideration, 
the deadline for responses is December 30, 2019. Comments on the 
adequacy of responses may be filed with the Commission by February 11, 
2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Messer (202-205-3193), Office of 
Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information 
on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-
1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special 
assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the 
Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information concerning 
the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its internet server 
(https://www.usitc.gov). The public record for this proceeding may be 
viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background.--On December 19, 2014, the Department of Commerce 
(``Commerce'') suspended antidumping and countervailing duty 
investigations on imports of sugar from Mexico (79 FR 78039 and 78044, 
December 29, 2014).\1\

[[Page 65842]]

The Commission is conducting reviews pursuant to section 751(c) of the 
Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1675(c)), to determine whether termination 
of the suspended investigations would be likely to lead to continuation 
or recurrence of material injury to the domestic industry within a 
reasonably foreseeable time. Provisions concerning the conduct of this 
proceeding may be found in the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure at 19 CFR parts 201, subparts A and B and 19 CFR part 207, 
subparts A and F. The Commission will assess the adequacy of interested 
party responses to this notice of institution to determine whether to 
conduct full or expedited reviews. The Commission's determinations in 
any expedited reviews will be based on the facts available, which may 
include information provided in response to this notice.
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    \1\ On January 16, 2015, Commerce received timely requests 
pursuant to sections 734(g) and 704(g) of the Act, as amended (19 
U.S.C. 1673c(g), 1671c(g)), to continue the antidumping and 
countervailing duty investigations on sugar from Mexico. Commerce 
resumed the investigations on May 4, 2015, and on September 23, 
2015, published its final affirmative antidumping and countervailing 
duty determinations (80 FR 57337 and 57341). On November 16, 2015, 
the Commission published its affirmative determinations (80 FR 
70833).
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    Definitions.--The following definitions apply to these reviews:
    (1) Subject Merchandise is the class or kind of merchandise that is 
within the scope of the five-year reviews, as defined by Commerce.
    (2) The Subject Country in these reviews is Mexico.
    (3) The Domestic Like Product is the domestically produced product 
or products which are like, or in the absence of like, most similar in 
characteristics and uses with, the Subject Merchandise. In its original 
determinations, the Commission defined a single Domestic Like Product 
consisting of all sugar that is coextensive with Commerce's scope.
    (4) The Domestic Industry is the U.S. producers as a whole of the 
Domestic Like Product, or those producers whose collective output of 
the Domestic Like Product constitutes a major proportion of the total 
domestic production of the product. In its original determinations, the 
Commission defined the Domestic Industry as all U.S. producers of sugar 
within Commerce's scope, including sugarcane and sugar beet farmers/
growers, as well as cane millers, cane refiners, and sugar beet 
processors, but did not include one firm because it did not engage in 
sufficient production-related activities.
    (5) The Order Date is the date that the investigations were 
suspended. In these reviews, the Order Date is December 19, 2014.
    (6) An Importer is any person or firm engaged, either directly or 
through a parent company or subsidiary, in importing the Subject 
Merchandise into the United States from a foreign manufacturer or 
through its selling agent.
    Participation in the proceeding and public service list.--Persons, 
including industrial users of the Subject Merchandise and, if the 
merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer 
organizations, wishing to participate in the proceeding as parties must 
file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as 
provided in section 201.11(b)(4) of the Commission's rules, no later 
than 21 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. 
The Secretary will maintain a public service list containing the names 
and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties 
to the proceeding.
    Former Commission employees who are seeking to appear in Commission 
five-year reviews are advised that they may appear in a review even if 
they participated personally and substantially in the corresponding 
underlying original investigation or an earlier review of the same 
underlying investigation. The Commission's designated agency ethics 
official has advised that a five-year review is not the same particular 
matter as the underlying original investigation, and a five-year review 
is not the same particular matter as an earlier review of the same 
underlying investigation for purposes of 18 U.S.C. 207, the post 
employment statute for Federal employees, and Commission rule 201.15(b) 
(19 CFR 201.15(b)), 79 FR 3246 (Jan. 17, 2014), 73 FR 24609 (May 5, 
2008). Consequently, former employees are not required to seek 
Commission approval to appear in a review under Commission rule 19 CFR 
201.15, even if the corresponding underlying original investigation or 
an earlier review of the same underlying investigation was pending when 
they were Commission employees. For further ethics advice on this 
matter, contact Charles Smith, Office of the General Counsel, at 202-
205-3408.
    Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under 
an administrative protective order (APO) and APO service list.--
Pursuant to section 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary 
will make BPI submitted in this proceeding available to authorized 
applicants under the APO issued in the proceeding, provided that the 
application is made no later than 21 days after publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. Authorized applicants must represent 
interested parties, as defined in 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to 
the proceeding. A separate service list will be maintained by the 
Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
    Certification.--Pursuant to section 207.3 of the Commission's 
rules, any person submitting information to the Commission in 
connection with this proceeding must certify that the information is 
accurate and complete to the best of the submitter's knowledge. In 
making the certification, the submitter will acknowledge that 
information submitted in response to this request for information and 
throughout this proceeding or other proceeding may be disclosed to and 
used: (i) By the Commission, its employees and Offices, and contract 
personnel (a) for developing or maintaining the records of this or a 
related proceeding, or (b) in internal investigations, audits, reviews, 
and evaluations relating to the programs, personnel, and operations of 
the Commission including under 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3; or (ii) by U.S. 
government employees and contract personnel, solely for cybersecurity 
purposes. All contract personnel will sign appropriate nondisclosure 
agreements.
    Written submissions.--Pursuant to section 207.61 of the 
Commission's rules, each interested party response to this notice must 
provide the information specified below. The deadline for filing such 
responses is December 30, 2019. Pursuant to section 207.62(b) of the 
Commission's rules, eligible parties (as specified in Commission rule 
207.62(b)(1)) may also file comments concerning the adequacy of 
responses to the notice of institution and whether the Commission 
should conduct expedited or full reviews. The deadline for filing such 
comments is February 11, 2020. All written submissions must conform 
with the provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's rules; any 
submissions that contain BPI must also conform with the requirements of 
sections 201.6, 207.3, and 207.7 of the Commission's rules. The 
Commission's Handbook on Filing Procedures, available on the 
Commission's website at https://www.usitc.gov/documents/handbook_on_filing_procedures.pdf, elaborates upon the Commission's 
procedures with respect to filings. Also, in accordance with sections 
201.16(c) and 207.3 of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a 
party to the proceeding must be served on all other parties to the 
proceeding (as identified by either the public or APO service list as 
appropriate), and a certificate of

[[Page 65843]]

service must accompany the document (if you are not a party to the 
proceeding you do not need to serve your response).
    No response to this request for information is required if a 
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') number is not 
displayed; the OMB number is 3117 0016/USITC No. 19-5-449, expiration 
date June 30, 2020. Public reporting burden for the request is 
estimated to average 15 hours per response. Please send comments 
regarding the accuracy of this burden estimate to the Office of 
Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20436.
    Inability to provide requested information.--Pursuant to section 
207.61(c) of the Commission's rules, any interested party that cannot 
furnish the information requested by this notice in the requested form 
and manner shall notify the Commission at the earliest possible time, 
provide a full explanation of why it cannot provide the requested 
information, and indicate alternative forms in which it can provide 
equivalent information. If an interested party does not provide this 
notification (or the Commission finds the explanation provided in the 
notification inadequate) and fails to provide a complete response to 
this notice, the Commission may take an adverse inference against the 
party pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1677e(b)) in 
making its determinations in the reviews.
    Information To Be Provided in Response to This Notice of 
Institution: As used below, the term ``firm'' includes any related 
firms.
    (1) The name and address of your firm or entity (including World 
Wide Web address) and name, telephone number, fax number, and Email 
address of the certifying official.
    (2) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is an 
interested party under 19 U.S.C. 1677(9) and if so, how, including 
whether your firm/entity is a U.S. sugarcane or sugar beet farmer/
grower, cane miller, cane refiner, and/or sugar beet processor of the 
Domestic Like Product, a U.S. union or worker group, a U.S. importer of 
the Subject Merchandise, a foreign producer or exporter of the Subject 
Merchandise, a U.S. or foreign trade or business association (a 
majority of whose members are interested parties under the statute), or 
another interested party (including an explanation). If you are a 
union/worker group or trade/business association, identify the firms in 
which your workers are employed or which are members of your 
association.
    (3) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is willing to 
participate in this proceeding by providing information requested by 
the Commission.
    (4) A statement of the likely effects of the termination of the 
suspended investigations on the Domestic Industry in general and/or 
your firm/entity specifically. In your response, please discuss the 
various factors specified in section 752(a) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 
1675a(a)) including the likely volume of subject imports, likely price 
effects of subject imports, and likely impact of imports of Subject 
Merchandise on the Domestic Industry.
    (5) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. sugarcane or 
sugar beet farmers/growers, cane millers, cane refiners, and sugar beet 
processors of the Domestic Like Product. Identify any known related 
parties and the nature of the relationship as defined in section 
771(4)(B) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1677(4)(B)).
    (6) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. importers of 
the Subject Merchandise and producers of the Subject Merchandise in the 
Subject Country that currently export or have exported Subject 
Merchandise to the United States or other countries since the Order 
Date.
    (7) A list of 3-5 leading purchasers in the U.S. market for the 
Domestic Like Product and the Subject Merchandise (including street 
address, World Wide Web address, and the name, telephone number, fax 
number, and Email address of a responsible official at each firm).
    (8) A list of known sources of information on national or regional 
prices for the Domestic Like Product or the Subject Merchandise in the 
U.S. or other markets.
    (9) If you are a U.S. producer of the Domestic Like Product by 
reason of sugar beet and/or sugarcane farming/growing, provide the 
following information on your firm's farmer/grower operations on the 
Domestic Like Product during crop year (typically October-September) 
2017/18: Total acres owned/leased (in number of acres), total acres of 
sugarcane and sugar beets harvested (in number of acres), sugar beet 
and sugarcane production (in short tons), an estimate of the percentage 
of total U.S. sugar beet and sugarcane production by U.S. sugar beet 
and sugarcane growers accounted for by your firm's(s') production (if 
known), and an estimate of the percentage of total U.S. acres of 
sugarcane and sugar beets harvested accounted for by your firm's(s') 
acres of sugarcane and sugar beets harvested (if known). If you are a 
U.S. producer of the Domestic Like Product by reason of cane milling, 
cane refining, and/or sugar beet processing, provide the following 
information on your firm's operations on the Domestic Like Product 
during crop year 2017/18 (report quantity data in short tons raw value, 
and value data in U.S. dollars, f.o.b. plant). If you are a union/
worker group or trade/business association, provide the information, on 
an aggregate basis, for the firms in which your workers are employed/
which are members of your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total U.S. production of the Domestic Like Product 
accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
    (b) Capacity (quantity) of your firm to produce the Domestic Like 
Product (that is, the level of production that your establishment(s) 
could reasonably have expected to attain during the year, assuming 
normal operating conditions (using equipment and machinery in place and 
ready to operate), normal operating levels (hours per week/weeks per 
year), time for downtime, maintenance, repair, and cleanup, and a 
typical or representative product mix);
    (c) the quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of the 
Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s);
    (d) the quantity and value of U.S. internal consumption/company 
transfers of the Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s); 
and
    (e) the value of (i) net sales, (ii) cost of goods sold (COGS), 
(iii) gross profit, (iv) selling, general and administrative (SG&A) 
expenses, and (v) operating income of the Domestic Like Product 
produced in your U.S. plant(s) (include both U.S. and export commercial 
sales, internal consumption, and company transfers) for your most 
recently completed fiscal year (identify the date on which your fiscal 
year ends).
    (10) If you are a U.S. importer or a trade/business association of 
U.S. importers of the Subject Merchandise from the Subject Country, 
provide the following information on your firm's(s') operations on that 
product during crop year 2017/18 (report quantity data in short tons 
raw value, and value data in U.S. dollars). If you are a trade/business 
association, provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the 
firms which are members of your association.
    (a) The quantity and value (landed, duty-paid) of U.S. imports and, 
if known, an estimate of the percentage of total U.S. imports of 
Subject Merchandise from the Subject Country accounted for by your 
firm's(s') imports;
    (b) the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port) of U.S. commercial 
shipments of

[[Page 65844]]

Subject Merchandise imported from the Subject Country; and
    (c) the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port) of U.S. internal 
consumption/company transfers of Subject Merchandise imported from the 
Subject Country.
    (11) If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business 
association of producers or exporters of the Subject Merchandise in the 
Subject Country, provide the following information on your firm's(s') 
operations on that product during crop year 2017/18 (report quantity 
data in short tons raw value, and value data in U.S. dollars, landed 
and duty-paid at the U.S. port). If you are a trade/business 
association, provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the 
firms which are members of your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total production of Subject Merchandise in the Subject 
Country accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
    (b) Capacity (quantity) of your firm(s) to produce the Subject 
Merchandise in the Subject Country (that is, the level of production 
that your establishment(s) could reasonably have expected to attain 
during the year, assuming normal operating conditions (using equipment 
and machinery in place and ready to operate), normal operating levels 
(hours per week/weeks per year), time for downtime, maintenance, 
repair, and cleanup, and a typical or representative product mix); and
    (c) the quantity and value of your firm's(s') exports to the United 
States of Subject Merchandise and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total exports to the United States of Subject Merchandise 
from the Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') exports.
    (12) Identify significant changes, if any, in the supply and demand 
conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have 
occurred in the United States or in the market for the Subject 
Merchandise in the Subject Country since the Order Date, and 
significant changes, if any, that are likely to occur within a 
reasonably foreseeable time. Supply conditions to consider include 
technology; production methods; development efforts; ability to 
increase production (including the shift of production facilities used 
for other products and the use, cost, or availability of major inputs 
into production); and factors related to the ability to shift supply 
among different national markets (including barriers to importation in 
foreign markets or changes in market demand abroad). Demand conditions 
to consider include end uses and applications; the existence and 
availability of substitute products; and the level of competition among 
the Domestic Like Product produced in the United States, Subject 
Merchandise produced in the Subject Country, and such merchandise from 
other countries.
    (13) (Optional) A statement of whether you agree with the above 
definitions of the Domestic Like Product and Domestic Industry; if you 
disagree with either or both of these definitions, please explain why 
and provide alternative definitions.

    Authority: This proceeding is being conducted under authority of 
Title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published 
pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission's rules.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: November 25, 2019.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2019-25873 Filed 11-27-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P