Raw Honey From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2023, 55554-55557 [2024-14762]

Download as PDF 55554 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 129 / Friday, July 5, 2024 / Notices assessment of double antidumping duties, and/or an increase in the amount of antidumping duties by the amount of the countervailing 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 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4). Dated: June 28, 2024. Ryan Majerus, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. Appendix 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 [FR Doc. 2024–14764 Filed 7–3–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A–552–833] Raw Honey From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021–2023 Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that Ban Me Thout Honeybee Joint Stock Company (BMT), Daklak Honeybee Joint Stock Company (DakHoney), and 13 non-individually examined and separate-rate eligible exporters of raw honey from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) sold subject merchandise to the United States at less than normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR) August 25, 2021, through May 31, 2023. DATES: Applicable July 5, 2024. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Krisha Hill or Stephanie Trejo, 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) 482–4037 or (202) 482–4390, respectively. ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 AGENCY: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:16 Jul 03, 2024 Jkt 262001 Background On June 10, 2022, Commerce published in the Federal Register the antidumping duty (AD) order on raw honey from Vietnam. On June 1, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of opportunity to request an administrative review of the Order.1 In the June Opportunity Notice Commerce inadvertently listed an incorrect POR for this proceeding.2 Commerce noted this error in its August Initiation Notice in which it initiated the review for this proceeding.3 Commerce also noted the error in a subsequent opportunity notice, giving parties a further opportunity to request an administrative review using the correct POR.4 On August 3, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register the initiation notice of an administrative review of the AD Order on raw honey from Vietnam.5 Commerce further published an addendum to the August Initiation Notice in which it initiated a review of raw honey from Vietnam for two companies, one that requested a review based on the August Opportunity Notice and one company for which Commerce failed to initiate a review based on its request for review made pursuant to the June Opportunity Notice.6 Commerce selected BMT and DakHoney as mandatory respondents in this administrative review.7 1 See Raw Honey From Argentina, Brazil, India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Antidumping Duty Orders, 87 FR 35501 (June 10, 2022) (Order); and Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 35835 (June 1, 2023) (June Opportunity Notice). 2 See June Opportunity Notice, 88 FR at 35837. 3 See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 51271, 51276 (August 3, 2023) (August Initiation Notice). 4 See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 50840 (August 2, 2023) (August Opportunity Notice). 5 See August Initiation Notice. 6 See Raw Honey From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Addendum to Initiation of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 88 FR 65155 (September 21, 2023) (August Initiation Notice Addendum). The August Initiation Notice and August Initiation Notice Addendum list 35 companies. However, in the August Initiation Notice, Commerce mistakenly listed Hung Thinh Trading Pvt twice. Additionally, we note that review requests were filed for two separate companies with minor variations in their names: Daklak Honey Bee JSC and Daklak Honeybee Joint Stock Company, and Dong Nai Honey Bee Corp and Dongnai HoneyBee Corporation. Accordingly, Commerce initiated this administrative review with respect to the 32 companies. 7 See Memorandum, ‘‘Respondent Selection,’’ dated October 5, 2023. PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 On January 29, 2024, Commerce extended the deadline for these preliminary results to June 28, 2024.8 For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this administrative review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.9 Scope of the Order The product covered by this Order is raw honey from Vietnam. Raw honey is honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by extraction, settling and skimming, or coarse straining. The merchandise subject to this investigation is currently classifiable under statistical subheading 0409.00.0005, 0409.00.0035, 0409.00.0045, 0409.00.0056, and 0409.00.0065 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. A full description of the scope of the Order is contained in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.10 Separate Rates The Act and Commerce’s regulations do not address the establishment of a separate rate to be applied to companies not selected for individual 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 an investigation, for guidance when calculating the rate for separate-rate respondents which Commerce did not examine individually in an administrative review. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act states that the allothers rate should be calculated by averaging the weighted-average dumping margins calculated for individually-examined respondents, excluding dumping margins that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts available. For the preliminary results of this review, Commerce determined the estimated dumping margins for BMT and DakHoney to be 100.54 percent and 154.47 percent, respectively, and we have assigned to the separate-rate companies a rate of 120.92 percent, which is the weighted8 See Memorandum, ‘‘Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,’’ dated January 29, 2024. 9 See Memorandum, ‘‘Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Raw Honey from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; 2021–2023,’’ dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). 10 Id. E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1 ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 129 / Friday, July 5, 2024 / Notices average dumping margins of BMT and DakHoney weighted by their publicly ranged U.S. sales values.11 For a listing of the separate rate companies, see Appendix II. Bees Raising Co.; (16) TNB Foods Co., Ltd.; and (17) Vinawax Producing Trading and Service Company Limited. For additional information, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. Vietnam-Wide Entity Under Commerce’s policy regarding the conditional review of the Vietnamwide entity,12 the Vietnam-wide entity will not be under review unless a party specifically requests, or Commerce selfinitiates, a review of the entity. Because no party requested a review of the Vietnam-wide entity in this review, the entity is not under review, and the entity’s rate (i.e., 60.03 percent) is not subject to change.13 With the exception of BMT, DakHoney, and the companies listed in Appendix II, Commerce considers all other companies for which a review was requested and did not demonstrate separate rate eligibility to be part of the Vietnam-wide entity.14 For these preliminary results, we consider the following companies to be part of the Vietnam-wide entity because they did not file separate rate applications or certifications: (1) Bee Honey Corporation of Ho Chi Minh City; (2) Golden Bee Company Limited; (3) Golden Honey Co., Ltd.; (4) Hai Phong Honeybee Company Limited; (5) Highlands Honeybee Travel Co., Ltd.; (6) Hoa Viet Honeybee Co., Ltd.; (7) Hung Binh Phat; (8) Hung Thinh Trading Pvt; (9) Huong Rung Co., Ltd.; (10) Huong Viet Honey Co., Ltd.; (11) Nguyen Hong Honey Co., LTDTA; (12) Phong Son Co., Ltd.; (13) Saigon Bees Co., Limited; (14) Thai Hoa Mat Bees Raising Co., Ltd.; (15) Thai Hoa Viet Mat Methodology 11 With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally calculates: (A) a weightedaverage of the dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average of the dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents using each company’s publicly ranged U.S. sale quantities for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects 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). 12 See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013). 13 See Order, 87 FR at 35503. 14 See August Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 51272 (‘‘All firms listed below that wish to qualify for separate rate status in the administrative reviews involving NME countries must complete, as appropriate, either a Separate Rate Application or Certification, as described below.’’). VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:16 Jul 03, 2024 Jkt 262001 Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). We calculated export price and constructed export price in accordance with section 772 of the Act. Because Vietnam is a non-market economy country within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, we calculated NV in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. The Preliminary Decision 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 https://access.trade.gov. A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included in Appendix I of this notice. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be found at https://access.trade.gov/public/ FRNoticesListLayout.aspx. Preliminary Results of the Administrative Review Commerce preliminarily determines that the following weighted-average dumping margins exist for the administrative review covering the period August 25, 2021, through May 31, 2023: Estimated weightedaverage dumping margin (percent) Exporter Ban Me Thuot Honeybee Joint Stock Company ..................... Daklak Honeybee Joint Stock Company ............................... Separate Rate Companies 15 ... Vietnam-wide Entity .................. 100.54 Disclosure and Public Comment We intend to disclose the calculations performed to parties within five days after public announcement of the preliminary results or, if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this PO 00000 15 See Appendix II. Frm 00008 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 notice.16 Interested parties may submit case briefs no later than 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.17 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.18 Interested parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.19 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.20 Further, we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We intend to use the public executive summaries as the basis of the comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will accompany the final results in this administrative review. We request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the public 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).21 Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via ACCESS.22 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 issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised in case and rebuttal briefs.23 If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the 16 See 19 CFR 351.224(b). 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements). 18 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). 19 See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2). 20 We use the term ‘‘issue’’ here to describe an argument that Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and Decision Memorandum. 21 See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings; Final Rule, 88 FR 67069 (September 29, 2023). 22 See 19 CFR 351.310(c). 23 See 19 CFR 351.310. 17 See 154.47 120.92 60.03 55555 E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1 55556 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 129 / Friday, July 5, 2024 / Notices hearing at a time and date to be determined. A hearing request must be filed electronically using ACCESS and received in its entirety by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the publication of this notice. Verification As provided in section 782(i)(3) of the Act, Commerce intends to verify the information submitted by BMT and DakHoney in advance of the final results of this review. ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 Final Results of Review Unless the deadline is extended, Commerce intends to issue the final results of this 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). Assessment Rates Upon issuing the final results, Commerce will determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review.24 Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication 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). For each individually examined respondent in this review whose weighted-average dumping margin in the final results of review is not zero or de minimis (i.e., less than 0.5 percent), Commerce intends to calculate importer/customer-specific assessment rates.25 Where the respondent reported reliable entered values, Commerce intends to calculate importer/customerspecific ad valorem assessment rates by aggregating the amount of dumping calculated for all U.S. sales to the importer/customer and dividing this amount by the total entered value of the merchandise sold to the importer/ customer.26 Where the respondent did not report entered values, Commerce will calculate importer/customerspecific assessment rates by dividing the 24 See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping Proceedings: Final Modification, 77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012) (Final Modification). 26 See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). 25 See VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:16 Jul 03, 2024 Jkt 262001 amount of dumping for reviewed sales to the importer/customer by the total quantity of those sales. Commerce will calculate an estimated ad valorem importer/customer-specific assessment rate to determine whether the per-unit assessment rate is de minimis; however, Commerce will use the per-unit assessment rate where entered values were not reported.27 Where an importer/ customer-specific ad valorem assessment rate is not zero or de minimis, Commerce will instruct CBP to collect the appropriate duties at the time of liquidation. Where either the respondent’s weighted average dumping margin is zero or de minimis, or an importer/customer-specific ad valorem assessment rate is zero or de minimis, Commerce will instruct CBP to liquidate appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.28 Pursuant to Commerce’s refinement to its practice, for sales that were not reported in the U.S. sales database submitted by a respondent individually examined during this review, Commerce will instruct CBP to liquidate the entry of such merchandise at the dumping margin assigned to the Vietnam-wide entity.29 For respondents not individually examined in this administrative review that qualified for a separate rate, the assessment rate will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margin assigned to the respondent in the final results of this review.30 Additionally, where Commerce determines that an exporter under review had no shipments of subject merchandise to the United States during the POR, any suspended entries of subject merchandise that entered under that exporter’s CBP case number during the POR will be liquidated at the dumping margin assigned to the Vietnam-wide entity. In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, 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 27 Id. Final Modification, 77 FR at 8103. a full discussion of this practice, see NonMarket Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011). 30 See Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks from the People’s Republic of China: Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments: 2014– 2015, 81 FR 29528 (May 12, 2016), and accompanying PDM at 10–11, unchanged in Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks from the People’s Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; Final Determination of No Shipments; 2014–2015, 81 FR 54042 (August 15, 2016). PO 00000 28 See 29 For Frm 00009 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 deposits of estimated antidumping duties, where applicable. 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 section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) for the exporters listed above, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margins established in the final results of this review, except if the rate is de minimis, in which case the cash deposit rate will be zero; (2) for previously-examined Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese exporters not listed above that at the time of entry are eligible for a separate rate base on a prior completed segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to the be the existing exporter-specific cash deposit rate; (3) for all non-Vietnamese exporters of subject merchandise which at the time of entry do not have a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the Vietnamese exporter that supplied the non-Vietnamese exporter. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice. 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 liquidation of the relevant entries during this 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 the preliminary results of this review in accordance with sections 751(a)(1)(B) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4). Dated: June 28, 2024. Ryan Majerus, 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 E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 129 / Friday, July 5, 2024 / Notices III. Period of Review IV. Scope of the Order V. Discussion of the Methodology VI. Currency Conversion VII. Recommendation Appendix II List of Companies Eligible for Separate Rate (1) Bao Nguyen Honeybee Co., Ltd. (2) Daisy Honey Bee Joint Stock Company (3) Dak Nguyen Hong Exploitation of Honey Company Limited TA (4) Dongnai HoneyBee Corporation (5) Hanoi Honey Bee Joint Stock Company (6) Hoa Viet Honeybee One Member Company Limited (7) Hoang Tri Honey Bee Co., Ltd. (8) Huong Rung Trading-Investment and Export Company Limited (9) Nhieu Loc Company Limited (10) Southern Honey Bee Company Ltd. (11) Spring Honeybee Co., Ltd. (12) Thanh Hao Bees Co., Ltd. (13) Viet Thanh Food Co., Ltd. [FR Doc. 2024–14762 Filed 7–3–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P Subsequently, on April 23, 2024, Commerce issued its Post-Preliminary Determination.2 For a complete description of the events that followed the Preliminary Determination, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.3 The Issues and 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 https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/ public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx. Scope of the Investigation The product covered by this investigation is pea protein from China. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I. Scope Comments DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [C–570–155] Certain Pea Protein From the People’s Republic of China: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Final Affirmative Critical Circumstances Determination Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain pea protein (pea protein) from the People’s Republic of China (China). The period of investigation is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. DATES: Applicable July 5, 2024. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Johnson or Laura Griffith, AD/ CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–4793 or (202) 482–6430, respectively. AGENCY: ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background On December 18, 2023, Commerce published its Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register and invited interested parties to comment.1 1 See Certain Pea Protein from the People’s Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:16 Jul 03, 2024 Jkt 262001 On February 7, 2024, Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum in which it determined not to modify the language of the scope as it regards pea protein from China.4 We received no scope case briefs from interested parties. Therefore, the scope of the investigation, as contained in the Preliminary Determination, remains unchanged as noted in Appendix I. Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received The subsidy programs under investigation, and the issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs that were submitted by parties in this investigation, are discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. For a list of the issues raised by interested parties and addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, see Appendix II to this notice. Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary Affirmative Critical Circumstances Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 88 FR 87403 (December 18, 2023) (Preliminary Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM). 2 See Memorandum, ‘‘Post-Preliminary Decision Memorandum for the Countervailing Duty Investigation on Certain Pea Protein from the People’s Republic of China,’’ dated April 23, 2024. 3 See Memorandum, ‘‘Decision Memorandum for the Final Affirmative Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Pea Protein from the People’s Republic of China,’’ dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum). 4 See Memorandum, ‘‘Less-Than-Fair-Value and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Certain Pea Protein from the People’s Republic of China: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,’’ dated February 7, 2024. PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 55557 Methodology Commerce conducted this investigation in accordance with section 701 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For each of the subsidy programs found to be countervailable, Commerce determines that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ‘‘authority’’ that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.5 For a full description of the methodology underlying our final determination, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum. In making this final determination, Commerce relied, in part, on facts otherwise available, including with an adverse inference, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. For a full discussion of our application of adverse facts available, see the Preliminary Determination PDM 6 and section ‘‘Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse Inferences’’ in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. Verification Commerce was unable to conduct onsite verifications of the information relied on in making its final determination in this investigation. However, in January 2024, we took additional steps in lieu of on-site verifications to verify the information relied upon in making this final determination, in accordance with section 782(i) of the Act, by conducting virtual verifications of Yantai Oriental Protein Tech Co., Ltd. (Yantai Oriental) and Zhaoyuan Junbang Trading Co., Ltd. (Junbang). Changes Since the Preliminary Determination Based on our analysis of the comments received from interested parties and our verification findings, we made certain changes to the subsidy rate calculations for Junbang and Yantai Oriental. For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum. Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances Pursuant to sections 705(a)(2), 776(a), and 776(b) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.206, Commerce continues to find that critical circumstances exist with respect to imports of pea protein from China for Junbang, Yantai Oriental, all other producers and/or exporters, and the non-responsive companies. For 5 See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding financial contribution; see also section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity. 6 See Preliminary Determination PDM at 8–36. E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55554-55557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14762]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-552-833]


Raw Honey From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2023

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that Ban Me Thout Honeybee Joint Stock Company (BMT), Daklak 
Honeybee Joint Stock Company (DakHoney), and 13 non-individually 
examined and separate-rate eligible exporters of raw honey from the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) sold subject merchandise to the 
United States at less than normal value (NV) during the period of 
review (POR) August 25, 2021, through May 31, 2023.

DATES: Applicable July 5, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Krisha Hill or Stephanie Trejo, 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) 482-4037 or (202) 482-4390, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On June 10, 2022, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
antidumping duty (AD) order on raw honey from Vietnam. On June 1, 2023, 
Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of opportunity to 
request an administrative review of the Order.\1\ In the June 
Opportunity Notice Commerce inadvertently listed an incorrect POR for 
this proceeding.\2\ Commerce noted this error in its August Initiation 
Notice in which it initiated the review for this proceeding.\3\ 
Commerce also noted the error in a subsequent opportunity notice, 
giving parties a further opportunity to request an administrative 
review using the correct POR.\4\
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    \1\ See Raw Honey From Argentina, Brazil, India, and the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Antidumping Duty Orders, 87 FR 35501 
(June 10, 2022) (Order); and Antidumping or Countervailing Duty 
Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request 
Administrative Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 
35835 (June 1, 2023) (June Opportunity Notice).
    \2\ See June Opportunity Notice, 88 FR at 35837.
    \3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 51271, 51276 (August 3, 2023) (August 
Initiation Notice).
    \4\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative 
Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 50840 (August 2, 
2023) (August Opportunity Notice).
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    On August 3, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
initiation notice of an administrative review of the AD Order on raw 
honey from Vietnam.\5\ Commerce further published an addendum to the 
August Initiation Notice in which it initiated a review of raw honey 
from Vietnam for two companies, one that requested a review based on 
the August Opportunity Notice and one company for which Commerce failed 
to initiate a review based on its request for review made pursuant to 
the June Opportunity Notice.\6\ Commerce selected BMT and DakHoney as 
mandatory respondents in this administrative review.\7\
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    \5\ See August Initiation Notice.
    \6\ See Raw Honey From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: 
Addendum to Initiation of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 88 
FR 65155 (September 21, 2023) (August Initiation Notice Addendum). 
The August Initiation Notice and August Initiation Notice Addendum 
list 35 companies. However, in the August Initiation Notice, 
Commerce mistakenly listed Hung Thinh Trading Pvt twice. 
Additionally, we note that review requests were filed for two 
separate companies with minor variations in their names: Daklak 
Honey Bee JSC and Daklak Honeybee Joint Stock Company, and Dong Nai 
Honey Bee Corp and Dongnai HoneyBee Corporation. Accordingly, 
Commerce initiated this administrative review with respect to the 32 
companies.
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated October 5, 
2023.
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    On January 29, 2024, Commerce extended the deadline for these 
preliminary results to June 28, 2024.\8\ For a complete description of 
the events that followed the initiation of this administrative review, 
see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\9\
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    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated January 
29, 2024.
    \9\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Raw Honey 
from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; 2021-2023,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The product covered by this Order is raw honey from Vietnam. Raw 
honey is honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by 
extraction, settling and skimming, or coarse straining. The merchandise 
subject to this investigation is currently classifiable under 
statistical subheading 0409.00.0005, 0409.00.0035, 0409.00.0045, 
0409.00.0056, and 0409.00.0065 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.
    A full description of the scope of the Order is contained in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\10\
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    \10\ Id.
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Separate Rates

    The Act and Commerce's regulations do not address the establishment 
of a separate rate to be applied to companies not selected for 
individual 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 an 
investigation, for guidance when calculating the rate for separate-rate 
respondents which Commerce did not examine individually in an 
administrative review. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act states that the 
all-others rate should be calculated by averaging the weighted-average 
dumping margins calculated for individually-examined respondents, 
excluding dumping margins that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely 
on facts available. For the preliminary results of this review, 
Commerce determined the estimated dumping margins for BMT and DakHoney 
to be 100.54 percent and 154.47 percent, respectively, and we have 
assigned to the separate-rate companies a rate of 120.92 percent, which 
is the weighted-

[[Page 55555]]

average dumping margins of BMT and DakHoney weighted by their publicly 
ranged U.S. sales values.\11\ For a listing of the separate rate 
companies, see Appendix II.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally 
calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the dumping margins calculated 
for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the dumping 
margins calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-
average of the dumping margins calculated for the examined 
respondents using each company's publicly ranged U.S. sale 
quantities for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then 
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects 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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vietnam-Wide Entity

    Under Commerce's policy regarding the conditional review of the 
Vietnam-wide entity,\12\ the Vietnam-wide entity will not be under 
review unless a party specifically requests, or Commerce self-
initiates, a review of the entity. Because no party requested a review 
of the Vietnam-wide entity in this review, the entity is not under 
review, and the entity's rate (i.e., 60.03 percent) is not subject to 
change.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in 
Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty 
Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity 
in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013).
    \13\ See Order, 87 FR at 35503.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With the exception of BMT, DakHoney, and the companies listed in 
Appendix II, Commerce considers all other companies for which a review 
was requested and did not demonstrate separate rate eligibility to be 
part of the Vietnam-wide entity.\14\ For these preliminary results, we 
consider the following companies to be part of the Vietnam-wide entity 
because they did not file separate rate applications or certifications: 
(1) Bee Honey Corporation of Ho Chi Minh City; (2) Golden Bee Company 
Limited; (3) Golden Honey Co., Ltd.; (4) Hai Phong Honeybee Company 
Limited; (5) Highlands Honeybee Travel Co., Ltd.; (6) Hoa Viet Honeybee 
Co., Ltd.; (7) Hung Binh Phat; (8) Hung Thinh Trading Pvt; (9) Huong 
Rung Co., Ltd.; (10) Huong Viet Honey Co., Ltd.; (11) Nguyen Hong Honey 
Co., LTDTA; (12) Phong Son Co., Ltd.; (13) Saigon Bees Co., Limited; 
(14) Thai Hoa Mat Bees Raising Co., Ltd.; (15) Thai Hoa Viet Mat Bees 
Raising Co.; (16) TNB Foods Co., Ltd.; and (17) Vinawax Producing 
Trading and Service Company Limited. For additional information, see 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ See August Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 51272 (``All firms 
listed below that wish to qualify for separate rate status in the 
administrative reviews involving NME countries must complete, as 
appropriate, either a Separate Rate Application or Certification, as 
described below.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). We 
calculated export price and constructed export price in accordance with 
section 772 of the Act. Because Vietnam is a non-market economy country 
within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, we calculated NV in 
accordance with section 773(c) of the Act. For a full description of 
the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum. The Preliminary Decision 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 https://access.trade.gov. A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is included in Appendix I of this notice. In 
addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can 
be found at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Preliminary Results of the Administrative Review

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following weighted-
average dumping margins exist for the administrative review covering 
the period August 25, 2021, through May 31, 2023:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ See Appendix II.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Estimated
                                                              weighted-
                                                               average
                          Exporter                             dumping
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ban Me Thuot Honeybee Joint Stock Company..................       100.54
Daklak Honeybee Joint Stock Company........................       154.47
Separate Rate Companies \15\...............................       120.92
Vietnam-wide Entity........................................        60.03
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure and Public Comment

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed to parties within 
five days after public announcement of the preliminary results or, if 
there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of 
publication of this notice.\16\ Interested parties may submit case 
briefs no later than 30 days after the date of publication of this 
notice.\17\ 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.\18\ Interested parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs 
in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each 
issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for 
general filing requirements).
    \18\ 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).
    \19\ See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.\20\ Further, 
we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary 
of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We 
intend to use the public executive summaries as the basis of the 
comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that 
will accompany the final results in this administrative review. We 
request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant 
citations in the public 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).\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \21\ See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other 
Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings; Final 
Rule, 88 FR 67069 (September 29, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, filed electronically via ACCESS.\22\ 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 issues to be discussed. Issues raised in 
the hearing will be limited to those raised in case and rebuttal 
briefs.\23\ If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to 
hold the

[[Page 55556]]

hearing at a time and date to be determined. A hearing request must be 
filed electronically using ACCESS and received in its entirety by 5:00 
p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the publication of this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \23\ See 19 CFR 351.310.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(3) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information submitted by BMT and DakHoney in advance of the 
final results of this review.

Final Results of Review

    Unless the deadline is extended, Commerce intends to issue the 
final results of this 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).

Assessment Rates

    Upon issuing the final results, Commerce will determine, and U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on 
all appropriate entries covered by this review.\24\ Commerce intends to 
issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the 
date of publication 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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For each individually examined respondent in this review whose 
weighted-average dumping margin in the final results of review is not 
zero or de minimis (i.e., less than 0.5 percent), Commerce intends to 
calculate importer/customer-specific assessment rates.\25\ Where the 
respondent reported reliable entered values, Commerce intends to 
calculate importer/customer-specific ad valorem assessment rates by 
aggregating the amount of dumping calculated for all U.S. sales to the 
importer/customer and dividing this amount by the total entered value 
of the merchandise sold to the importer/customer.\26\ Where the 
respondent did not report entered values, Commerce will calculate 
importer/customer-specific assessment rates by dividing the amount of 
dumping for reviewed sales to the importer/customer by the total 
quantity of those sales. Commerce will calculate an estimated ad 
valorem importer/customer-specific assessment rate to determine whether 
the per-unit assessment rate is de minimis; however, Commerce will use 
the per-unit assessment rate where entered values were not 
reported.\27\ Where an importer/customer-specific ad valorem assessment 
rate is not zero or de minimis, Commerce will instruct CBP to collect 
the appropriate duties at the time of liquidation. Where either the 
respondent's weighted average dumping margin is zero or de minimis, or 
an importer/customer-specific ad valorem assessment rate is zero or de 
minimis, Commerce will instruct CBP to liquidate appropriate entries 
without regard to antidumping duties.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \25\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted 
Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping 
Proceedings: Final Modification, 77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012) 
(Final Modification).
    \26\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    \27\ Id.
    \28\ See Final Modification, 77 FR at 8103.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to Commerce's refinement to its practice, for sales that 
were not reported in the U.S. sales database submitted by a respondent 
individually examined during this review, Commerce will instruct CBP to 
liquidate the entry of such merchandise at the dumping margin assigned 
to the Vietnam-wide entity.\29\ For respondents not individually 
examined in this administrative review that qualified for a separate 
rate, the assessment rate will be equal to the weighted-average dumping 
margin assigned to the respondent in the final results of this 
review.\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \29\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Non-Market 
Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 
76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011).
    \30\ See Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks from the People's Republic 
of China: Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments: 2014-2015, 81 
FR 29528 (May 12, 2016), and accompanying PDM at 10-11, unchanged in 
Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks from the People's Republic of China: 
Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; Final 
Determination of No Shipments; 2014-2015, 81 FR 54042 (August 15, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Additionally, where Commerce determines that an exporter under 
review had no shipments of subject merchandise to the United States 
during the POR, any suspended entries of subject merchandise that 
entered under that exporter's CBP case number during the POR will be 
liquidated at the dumping margin assigned to the Vietnam-wide entity.
    In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, 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 antidumping 
duties, where applicable.

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 section 
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) for the exporters listed above, the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margins 
established in the final results of this review, except if the rate is 
de minimis, in which case the cash deposit rate will be zero; (2) for 
previously-examined Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese exporters not listed 
above that at the time of entry are eligible for a separate rate base 
on a prior completed segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit rate 
will continue to the be the existing exporter-specific cash deposit 
rate; (3) for all non-Vietnamese exporters of subject merchandise which 
at the time of entry do not have a separate rate, the cash deposit rate 
will be the rate applicable to the Vietnamese exporter that supplied 
the non-Vietnamese exporter. These cash deposit requirements, when 
imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

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 liquidation 
of the relevant entries during this 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 the preliminary results of this 
review in accordance with sections 751(a)(1)(B) and 777(i) of the Act, 
and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: June 28, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
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

[[Page 55557]]

III. Period of Review
IV. Scope of the Order
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Currency Conversion
VII. Recommendation

Appendix II

List of Companies Eligible for Separate Rate

(1) Bao Nguyen Honeybee Co., Ltd.
(2) Daisy Honey Bee Joint Stock Company
(3) Dak Nguyen Hong Exploitation of Honey Company Limited TA
(4) Dongnai HoneyBee Corporation
(5) Hanoi Honey Bee Joint Stock Company
(6) Hoa Viet Honeybee One Member Company Limited
(7) Hoang Tri Honey Bee Co., Ltd.
(8) Huong Rung Trading-Investment and Export Company Limited
(9) Nhieu Loc Company Limited
(10) Southern Honey Bee Company Ltd.
(11) Spring Honeybee Co., Ltd.
(12) Thanh Hao Bees Co., Ltd.
(13) Viet Thanh Food Co., Ltd.

[FR Doc. 2024-14762 Filed 7-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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