Suspension Agreement on Sugar From Mexico; 2018 Administrative Review of the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Sugar From Mexico (as Amended), 6894-6896 [2020-02364]
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6894
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 25 / Thursday, February 6, 2020 / Notices
We find that the GOB has provided
sufficient evidence for Commerce to
initiate these CCRs. Therefore, in
response to this request, Commerce is
initiating these CCRs in order to
examine whether Belarus is still an
NME country for purposes of the AD
law, pursuant to sections 751(b) and
771(18)(C)(ii) of the Tariff Act of 1930,
as amended (the Act). Commerce has
treated Belarus as an NME country in all
past AD investigations and
administrative reviews.1 A designation
as an NME remains in effect until it is
revoked by Commerce.2
Opportunity for Public Comment and
Information
As part of this inquiry to review
Belarus’ NME status, Commerce is
interested in receiving public comment
and information with respect to Belarus
on the following factors enumerated by
section 771(18)(B) of the Act, which
Commerce must take into account in
making an ME/NME determination:
(i) The extent to which the currency
of the foreign country is convertible into
the currency of other countries;
(ii) the extent to which wage rates in
the foreign country are determined by
free bargaining between labor and
management;
(iii) the extent to which joint ventures
or other investments by firms of other
foreign countries are permitted in the
foreign country;
(iv) the extent of government
ownership or control of the means of
production;
(v) the extent of government control
over allocation of resources and over
price and output decisions of
enterprises; and
(vi) such other factors as the
administering authority considers
appropriate.
The deadline for the submission of
comments is not later than 30 days after
the date of publication of this notice.
Rebuttal comments, limited to issues
raised in parties’ affirmative comments,
may be filed not later than 14 days after
the date for filing affirmative comments.
All submissions to Commerce must be
filed electronically via Enforcement and
Compliance’s Antidumping Duty and
Countervailing Duty Centralized
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1 See,
e.g., Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire
Rod from Belarus, the Russian Federation, and the
United Arab Emirates: Affirmative Final
Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
and Partial Affirmative Finding of Critical
Circumstances, 82 FR 56214 (November 28, 2017);
and Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value: Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bars
from Belarus, 66 FR 33528 (June 22, 2001).
2 See section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act.
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Electronic Service System (ACCESS).3
An electronically filed document must
be received successfully in its entirety
in ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
on the due date set forth in this notice.
Documents exempted from the
electronic submission requirements
must be filed manually (i.e., in paper
form) with Enforcement and
Compliance’s APO/Dockets Unit, Room
18022, U.S. Department of Commerce,
1401 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20230, and stamped
with the date and time of receipt by the
applicable deadlines.
All such comments must also be filed
on the records of both of the concurrent
CCRs. ACCESS is available to registered
users at https://access.trade.gov, and to
all parties in the Central Records Unit,
room B8024 of the main Commerce
building.
After reviewing all comments,
Commerce will determine whether a
public hearing in these CCRs is
warranted, if one is requested in the
comments filed by an interested party,
as defined by section 771(9) of the Act,
or if Commerce otherwise determines
that one is warranted. If Commerce
determines that a hearing is warranted,
it will announce a time for that hearing
to be held at the U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230, in a room
to be determined.
Unless extended, consistent with 19
CFR 351.216(e), we intend to issue the
final results of these CCRs no later than
270 days after the date on which these
reviews were initiated or within 45 days
of that date if all parties agree to the
outcome of the reviews.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and
published in accordance with sections
751(b) and 771(18)(C)(ii) of the Act.
Dated: January 30, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2020–02361 Filed 2–5–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
3 See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Proceedings: Electronic Filing Procedures;
Administrative Protective Order Procedures, 76 FR
39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and
Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System
Name, 79 FR 69046 (November 20, 2014) for details
of Commerce’s electronic filing requirements,
effective August 5, 2011. Information on help using
ACCESS can be found at https://access.trade.gov/
help.aspx and a handbook can be found at https://
access.trade.gov/help/ACCESS_User_Guide.pdf.
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–201–845]
Suspension Agreement on Sugar From
Mexico; 2018 Administrative Review of
the Agreement Suspending the
Antidumping Duty Investigation on
Sugar From Mexico (as Amended)
Enforcement & Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(Commerce) preliminarily determines
that the selected respondents Ingenio
Adolfo Lopez Mateos S.A. de C.V. and
its affiliates (Grupo PIASA) and Ingenio
Pa´nuco S.A.P.I. de C.V. (Pa´nuco), are in
compliance with the Agreement
Suspending the Antidumping Duty
Investigation on Sugar from Mexico (AD
Agreement), as amended on June 30,
2017 (collectively, amended AD
Agreement), for the period January 1,
2018 through December 31, 2018, when
such amended AD Agreement was in
effect. Further, Commerce preliminarily
determines that the amended AD
Agreement in effect during the POR was
meeting its statutory requirements
under sections 734(c) and (d) of the
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
The preliminary results are set forth in
the section titled ‘‘Methodology and
Preliminary Results,’’ infra. We intend
to issue the final results of review
within 120 days after publication of
these preliminary results in the Federal
Register.
DATES: Applicable January 31, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sally C. Gannon or David Cordell,
Bilateral Agreements Unit, Enforcement
& Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230, telephone:
(202) 482–0162 or (202) 482–0408,
respectively.
AGENCY:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 19, 2014, Commerce
signed an agreement under section
734(c) of the Act, with a representative
of Mexican producers/exporters
accounting for substantially all imports
of sugar from Mexico, suspending the
antidumping duty (AD) investigation on
sugar from Mexico.1 On June 30, 2017,
Commerce and a representative of
Mexican producers/exporters
1 See Agreement Suspending the Antidumping
Duty Investigation of Sugar from Mexico, 79 FR
78039 (December 29, 2014) (AD Agreement).
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 25 / Thursday, February 6, 2020 / Notices
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accounting for substantially all imports
of sugar from Mexico signed an
amendment to the AD Agreement.2
Consistent with a ruling from the U.S.
Court of International Trade, Commerce
published in the Federal Register a
notice of the termination of the 2017 AD
Amendment, with an applicable date of
December 7, 2019.3
On December 26, 2018, the American
Sugar Coalition and its Members 4
(petitioners) filed a timely request for an
administrative review of the amended
AD Agreement.5 On January 28, 2019,
Commerce exercised its discretion to
toll all deadlines affected by the partial
federal government closure from
December 22, 2018 through the
resumption of operations on January 29,
2019.6 On February 12, 2019, the
petitioners resubmitted their request for
an administrative review of the
amended AD Agreement as a precaution
because the initial request was made
during the partial federal government
closure.7
Commerce initiated the review of the
amended AD Agreement on March 14,
2019, for the December 1, 2017 through
November 30, 2018, period of review
(POR).8 On May 6, 2019, Commerce
selected mandatory respondents and
issued its questionnaires to the
respondent companies: Grupo PIASA
and Pa´nuco.9 These two companies
represented the largest producers/
exporters of subject merchandise
2 See Sugar From Mexico: Amendment to the
Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty
Investigation, 82 FR 31945 (July 11, 2017) (AD
Amendment).
3 See Sugar From Mexico: Notice of Termination
of Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the
Antidumping Duty Investigation, 84 FR 67711
(December 11, 2019).
4 The members of the American Sugar Coalition
are as follows: American Sugar Cane League,
American Sugarbeet Growers Association,
American Sugar Refining, Inc., Florida Sugar Cane
League, Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers, Inc.,
Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, and the
United States Beet Sugar Association.
5 See Letter to Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary of
Commerce, from the American Sugar Coalition and
its members, ‘‘Sugar from Mexico: Request for
Administrative Review’’ (December 26, 2018).
6 See Memorandum to the Record, ‘‘Deadlines
Affected by the Partial Shutdown of the Federal
Government’’ (January 28, 2019). All deadlines in
this segment of the proceeding have been extended
by 40 days.
7 See Letter to Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary of
Commerce, form the American Sugar Coalition and
its members, ‘‘Sugar from Mexico: Resubmission of
Request for Administrative Review’’ (February 12,
2019).
8 See Initiation of Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 84 FR
9297 (March 14, 2019).
9 See Memorandum to the File, ‘‘Administrative
Review of the Agreement Suspending the
Antidumping Duty Investigation on Sugar from
Mexico, as Amended: Placement of CBP Data on the
Record for Respondent Selection’’ (March 18, 2019).
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19:54 Feb 05, 2020
Jkt 250001
imported into the United States during
the POR.
Scope of Review
Merchandise covered by this
amended AD Agreement was typically
imported under the following headings
of the HTSUS during the POR:
1701.12.1000, 1701.12.5000,
1701.13.1000, 1701.13.5000,
1701.14.1000, 1701.14.5000,
1701.91.1000, 1701.91.3000,
1701.99.1010, 1701.99.1025,
1701.99.1050, 1701.99.5010,
1701.99.5025, 1701.99.5050, and
1702.90.4000. The tariff classification is
provided for convenience and customs
purposes; however, the written
description of the scope of this amended
AD Agreement is dispositive.10
Methodology and Preliminary Results
Commerce has conducted this review
in accordance with section 751(a)(1)(C)
of the Act, which specifies that
Commerce shall ‘‘review the current
status of, and compliance with, any
agreement by reason of which an
investigation was suspended.’’ In this
case, Commerce and a representative of
the Mexican sugar producers/exporters
accounting for substantially all imports
of sugar from Mexico signed the AD
Agreement, which suspended the
underlying antidumping duty
investigation, on December 19, 2014.
Further, on June 30, 2017, Commerce
and a representative of the Mexican
sugar producers/exporters accounting
for substantially all imports of sugar
from Mexico signed an amendment to
the AD Agreement. Pursuant to the
amended AD Agreement, the Mexican
signatories agreed that the subject
merchandise would be subject to
minimum reference prices and that at
least 85 percent of the dumping from
the original investigation would be
eliminated, as outlined in the amended
AD Agreement.11 The Mexican
signatories also agreed to other
conditions, including the reporting of
10 For
a complete description of the Scope of the
Order, see Memorandum to Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance, ‘‘Decision Memorandum for
Preliminary Results of Administrative Review of the
Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty
Investigation on Sugar from Mexico,’’ dated
concurrently with this notice (Preliminary Decision
Memorandum).
11 See AD Agreement, 79 FR at 78039, 78042, and
78044, at Price Undertaking. See also AD
Amendment, 82 FR at 31946–47.
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6895
the polarity testing of Other Sugar 12 and
enhanced monitoring.13
After reviewing the information
received to date from the respondent
companies in their questionnaire and
supplemental questionnaire responses,
we preliminarily determine that the
respondents adhered to the terms of the
amended AD Agreement in effect during
the POR and that the amended AD
Agreement was functioning as intended.
Further, we preliminarily determine
that the amended AD Agreement was
meeting the statutory requirements
under sections 734(c) and (d) of the Act
during the POR. For a full description
of the methodology underlying our
conclusions, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum. Issues
involving business proprietary
information are addressed in separate
memoranda.14
Public Comment
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii),
interested parties may submit case briefs
not later than 30 days after the date of
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 in accordance with 19 CFR
351.309(d)(1). Parties who submit case
briefs or rebuttal briefs in this
proceeding are encouraged to provide:
(1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief
summary of the argument; and (3) a
table of authorities.15
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c),
interested parties who wish to request a
hearing, or to participate if one is
requested, must submit a written
request to the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance filed
electronically via ACCESS. An
electronically filed document must be
received successfully in its entirety by
Commerce’s electronic records system,
ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time 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 (3) a list of
issues to be discussed. Issues raised in
the hearing will be limited to those
12 See AD Agreement, 79 FR at 78039, 78041 at
Definitions. See also AD Amendment, 82 FR 31945,
31946–47.
13 See AD Agreement, 79 FR at 78040, 78042–43,
at Monitoring of the Agreement. See also AD
Amendment, 82 FR at 31947.
14 See Memorandum to the File, ‘‘Analysis of
Proprietary Information and Argument Regarding
Ingenio Aldolfo Lopez Mateos S.A. de C.V. and Its
Affiliates’’ (January 31, 2020); Memorandum to the
File, ‘‘Analysis of Proprietary Information and
Argument Regarding Ingenio Pa´nuco, S.A.P.I. de
C.V.’’ (January 31, 2020).
15 See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 25 / Thursday, February 6, 2020 / Notices
raised in the respective case briefs.
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,
not later than 120 days after the date of
publication of this notice, pursuant to
section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.
We are issuing and publishing these
results in accordance with sections
751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: January 31, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance.
Respondent Selection
[FR Doc. 2020–02364 Filed 2–5–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Initiation of Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Administrative
Reviews
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(Commerce) has received requests to
conduct administrative reviews of
various antidumping duty (AD) and
countervailing duty (CVD) orders and
findings with December anniversary
dates. In accordance with Commerce’s
regulations, we are initiating those
administrative reviews.
DATES: Applicable February 6, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brenda E. Brown, AD/CVD Operations,
Customs Liaison Unit, Enforcement and
Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230, telephone:
(202) 482–4735.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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AGENCY:
Background
Commerce has received timely
requests, in accordance with 19 CFR
351.213(b), for administrative reviews of
various AD and CVD orders and
findings with December anniversary
dates.
All deadlines for the submission of
various types of information,
certifications, or comments or actions by
Commerce discussed below refer to the
number of calendar days from the
applicable starting time.
Notice of No Sales
If a producer or exporter named in
this notice of initiation had no exports,
sales, or entries during the period of
review (POR), it must notify Commerce
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19:54 Feb 05, 2020
Jkt 250001
within 30 days of publication of this
notice in the Federal Register. All
submissions must be filed electronically
at https://access.trade.gov in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.303.1 Such
submissions are subject to verification
in accordance with section 782(i) of the
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
Further, in accordance with 19 CFR
351.303(f)(1)(i), a copy must be served
on every party on Commerce’s service
list.
In the event Commerce limits the
number of respondents for individual
examination for administrative reviews
initiated pursuant to requests made for
the orders identified below, Commerce
intends to select respondents based on
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) data for U.S. imports during the
POR. We intend to place the CBP data
on the record within five days of
publication of the initiation notice and
to make our decision regarding
respondent selection within 30 days of
publication of the initiation Federal
Register notice. Comments regarding the
CBP data and respondent selection
should be submitted within seven days
after the placement of the CBP data on
the record of this review. Parties
wishing to submit rebuttal comments
should submit those comments within
five days after the deadline for the
initial comments.
In the event Commerce decides it is
necessary to limit individual
examination of respondents and
conduct respondent selection under
section 777A(c)(2) of the Act, the
following guidelines regarding
collapsing of companies for purposes of
respondent selection will apply. In
general, Commerce has found that
determinations concerning whether
particular companies should be
‘‘collapsed’’ (e.g., treated as a single
entity for purposes of calculating
antidumping duty rates) require a
substantial amount of detailed
information and analysis, which often
require follow-up questions and
analysis. Accordingly, Commerce will
not conduct collapsing analyses at the
respondent selection phase of this
review and will not collapse companies
at the respondent selection phase unless
there has been a determination to
collapse certain companies in a
previous segment of this AD proceeding
(e.g., investigation, administrative
review, new shipper review, or changed
1 See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Proceedings: Electronic Filing Procedures;
Administrative Protective Order Procedures, 76 FR
39263 (July 6, 2011).
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Sfmt 4703
circumstances review). For any
company subject to this review, if
Commerce determined, or continued to
treat, that company as collapsed with
others, Commerce will assume that such
companies continue to operate in the
same manner and will collapse them for
respondent selection purposes.
Otherwise, Commerce will not collapse
companies for purposes of respondent
selection. Parties are requested to (a)
identify which companies subject to
review previously were collapsed, and
(b) provide a citation to the proceeding
in which they were collapsed. Further,
if companies are requested to complete
the Quantity and Value (Q&V)
Questionnaire for purposes of
respondent selection, in general, each
company must report volume and value
data separately for itself. Parties should
not include data for any other party,
even if they believe they should be
treated as a single entity with that other
party. If a company was collapsed with
another company or companies in the
most recently completed segment of this
proceeding where Commerce
considered collapsing that entity,
complete Q&V data for that collapsed
entity must be submitted.
Deadline for Withdrawal of Request for
Administrative Review
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), a
party that has requested a review may
withdraw that request within 90 days of
the date of publication of the notice of
initiation of the requested review. The
regulation provides that Commerce may
extend this time if it is reasonable to do
so. Determinations by Commerce to
extend the 90-day deadline will be
made on a case-by-case basis.
Deadline for Particular Market
Situation Allegation
Section 504 of the Trade Preferences
Extension Act of 2015 amended the Act
by adding the concept of a particular
market situation (PMS) for purposes of
constructed value under section 773(e)
of the Act.2 Section 773(e) of the Act
states that ‘‘if a particular market
situation exists such that the cost of
materials and fabrication or other
processing of any kind does not
accurately reflect the cost of production
in the ordinary course of trade, the
administering authority may use
another calculation methodology under
this subtitle or any other calculation
methodology.’’ When an interested
party submits a PMS allegation pursuant
to section 773(e) of the Act, Commerce
will respond to such a submission
2 See Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015,
Public Law 114–27, 129 Stat. 362 (2015).
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6894-6896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02364]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-201-845]
Suspension Agreement on Sugar From Mexico; 2018 Administrative
Review of the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation
on Sugar From Mexico (as Amended)
AGENCY: Enforcement & Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that the selected respondents Ingenio Adolfo Lopez Mateos S.A. de C.V.
and its affiliates (Grupo PIASA) and Ingenio P[aacute]nuco S.A.P.I. de
C.V. (P[aacute]nuco), are in compliance with the Agreement Suspending
the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Sugar from Mexico (AD Agreement),
as amended on June 30, 2017 (collectively, amended AD Agreement), for
the period January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018, when such amended
AD Agreement was in effect. Further, Commerce preliminarily determines
that the amended AD Agreement in effect during the POR was meeting its
statutory requirements under sections 734(c) and (d) of the Tariff Act
of 1930, as amended (the Act). The preliminary results are set forth in
the section titled ``Methodology and Preliminary Results,'' infra. We
intend to issue the final results of review within 120 days after
publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register.
DATES: Applicable January 31, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon or David Cordell,
Bilateral Agreements Unit, Enforcement & Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, telephone: (202) 482-0162 or (202)
482-0408, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 19, 2014, Commerce signed an agreement under section
734(c) of the Act, with a representative of Mexican producers/exporters
accounting for substantially all imports of sugar from Mexico,
suspending the antidumping duty (AD) investigation on sugar from
Mexico.\1\ On June 30, 2017, Commerce and a representative of Mexican
producers/exporters
[[Page 6895]]
accounting for substantially all imports of sugar from Mexico signed an
amendment to the AD Agreement.\2\ Consistent with a ruling from the
U.S. Court of International Trade, Commerce published in the Federal
Register a notice of the termination of the 2017 AD Amendment, with an
applicable date of December 7, 2019.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation
of Sugar from Mexico, 79 FR 78039 (December 29, 2014) (AD
Agreement).
\2\ See Sugar From Mexico: Amendment to the Agreement Suspending
the Antidumping Duty Investigation, 82 FR 31945 (July 11, 2017) (AD
Amendment).
\3\ See Sugar From Mexico: Notice of Termination of Amendment to
the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation, 84 FR
67711 (December 11, 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On December 26, 2018, the American Sugar Coalition and its Members
\4\ (petitioners) filed a timely request for an administrative review
of the amended AD Agreement.\5\ On January 28, 2019, Commerce exercised
its discretion to toll all deadlines affected by the partial federal
government closure from December 22, 2018 through the resumption of
operations on January 29, 2019.\6\ On February 12, 2019, the
petitioners resubmitted their request for an administrative review of
the amended AD Agreement as a precaution because the initial request
was made during the partial federal government closure.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ The members of the American Sugar Coalition are as follows:
American Sugar Cane League, American Sugarbeet Growers Association,
American Sugar Refining, Inc., Florida Sugar Cane League, Rio Grande
Valley Sugar Growers, Inc., Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of
Florida, and the United States Beet Sugar Association.
\5\ See Letter to Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary of Commerce,
from the American Sugar Coalition and its members, ``Sugar from
Mexico: Request for Administrative Review'' (December 26, 2018).
\6\ See Memorandum to the Record, ``Deadlines Affected by the
Partial Shutdown of the Federal Government'' (January 28, 2019). All
deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 40
days.
\7\ See Letter to Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary of Commerce,
form the American Sugar Coalition and its members, ``Sugar from
Mexico: Resubmission of Request for Administrative Review''
(February 12, 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce initiated the review of the amended AD Agreement on March
14, 2019, for the December 1, 2017 through November 30, 2018, period of
review (POR).\8\ On May 6, 2019, Commerce selected mandatory
respondents and issued its questionnaires to the respondent companies:
Grupo PIASA and P[aacute]nuco.\9\ These two companies represented the
largest producers/exporters of subject merchandise imported into the
United States during the POR.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 9297 (March 14, 2019).
\9\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Administrative Review of the
Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Sugar
from Mexico, as Amended: Placement of CBP Data on the Record for
Respondent Selection'' (March 18, 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scope of Review
Merchandise covered by this amended AD Agreement was typically
imported under the following headings of the HTSUS during the POR:
1701.12.1000, 1701.12.5000, 1701.13.1000, 1701.13.5000, 1701.14.1000,
1701.14.5000, 1701.91.1000, 1701.91.3000, 1701.99.1010, 1701.99.1025,
1701.99.1050, 1701.99.5010, 1701.99.5025, 1701.99.5050, and
1702.90.4000. The tariff classification is provided for convenience and
customs purposes; however, the written description of the scope of this
amended AD Agreement is dispositive.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ For a complete description of the Scope of the Order, see
Memorandum to Jeffrey I. Kessler, Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, ``Decision Memorandum for Preliminary
Results of Administrative Review of the Agreement Suspending the
Antidumping Duty Investigation on Sugar from Mexico,'' dated
concurrently with this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Methodology and Preliminary Results
Commerce has conducted this review in accordance with section
751(a)(1)(C) of the Act, which specifies that Commerce shall ``review
the current status of, and compliance with, any agreement by reason of
which an investigation was suspended.'' In this case, Commerce and a
representative of the Mexican sugar producers/exporters accounting for
substantially all imports of sugar from Mexico signed the AD Agreement,
which suspended the underlying antidumping duty investigation, on
December 19, 2014. Further, on June 30, 2017, Commerce and a
representative of the Mexican sugar producers/exporters accounting for
substantially all imports of sugar from Mexico signed an amendment to
the AD Agreement. Pursuant to the amended AD Agreement, the Mexican
signatories agreed that the subject merchandise would be subject to
minimum reference prices and that at least 85 percent of the dumping
from the original investigation would be eliminated, as outlined in the
amended AD Agreement.\11\ The Mexican signatories also agreed to other
conditions, including the reporting of the polarity testing of Other
Sugar \12\ and enhanced monitoring.\13\
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\11\ See AD Agreement, 79 FR at 78039, 78042, and 78044, at
Price Undertaking. See also AD Amendment, 82 FR at 31946-47.
\12\ See AD Agreement, 79 FR at 78039, 78041 at Definitions. See
also AD Amendment, 82 FR 31945, 31946-47.
\13\ See AD Agreement, 79 FR at 78040, 78042-43, at Monitoring
of the Agreement. See also AD Amendment, 82 FR at 31947.
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After reviewing the information received to date from the
respondent companies in their questionnaire and supplemental
questionnaire responses, we preliminarily determine that the
respondents adhered to the terms of the amended AD Agreement in effect
during the POR and that the amended AD Agreement was functioning as
intended. Further, we preliminarily determine that the amended AD
Agreement was meeting the statutory requirements under sections 734(c)
and (d) of the Act during the POR. For a full description of the
methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum. Issues involving business proprietary information are
addressed in separate memoranda.\14\
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\14\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Analysis of Proprietary
Information and Argument Regarding Ingenio Aldolfo Lopez Mateos S.A.
de C.V. and Its Affiliates'' (January 31, 2020); Memorandum to the
File, ``Analysis of Proprietary Information and Argument Regarding
Ingenio P[aacute]nuco, S.A.P.I. de C.V.'' (January 31, 2020).
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Public Comment
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested parties may submit
case briefs not later than 30 days after the date of 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 in accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1). Parties who submit
case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding are encouraged to
provide: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the
argument; and (3) a table of authorities.\15\
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\15\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing, or to participate if one is requested, must submit a
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance filed electronically via ACCESS. An electronically filed
document must be received successfully in its entirety by Commerce's
electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
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 (3) a list of issues to be discussed.
Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those
[[Page 6896]]
raised in the respective case briefs. 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, not later than
120 days after the date of publication of this notice, pursuant to
section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.
We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: January 31, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2020-02364 Filed 2-5-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
