[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69899-69901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22367]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-820]


Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh 
Tomatoes From Mexico; Preliminary Results of 2021-2022 Administrative 
Review

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that the respondents selected for individual examination, 
Ceuta Produce S de R.L. de C.V. and its affiliate, Rancho la Memoria, 
S. de R.L. de C.V. (collectively, Ceuta) and Valores Horticolas Del 
Pacifico S.A. De C.V. (VALHPAC), complied with the Agreement Suspending 
the Antidumping Duty (AD) Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico 
(2019 Agreement), for the period of review (POR) September 1, 2021, 
through August 31, 2022, except for certain instances of 
inconsequential and/or inadvertent noncompliance. We preliminarily 
determine that such

[[Page 69900]]

noncompliance does not materially frustrate the purposes of the 2019 
Agreement. Commerce also preliminarily determines that the 2019 
Agreement continued to meet the statutory requirements under sections 
734(c) and (d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) during 
the POR.

DATES: Applicable October 10, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Cordell or Walter C. Schaub, 
Enforcement & Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 
20230, telephone: (202) 482-0408 or (202) 482-0907, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On September 19, 2019, Commerce signed an agreement under section 
734(c) of the Act, with representatives of Mexican fresh tomato 
producers/exporters accounting for substantially all imports of fresh 
tomatoes from Mexico,\1\ suspending the AD investigation on fresh 
tomatoes from Mexico.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The Mexican Grower Associations include: 
Confederaci[oacute]n de Asociaciones Agr[iacute]colas del Esta de 
Sinaloa, A.C., Consejo Agr[iacute]cola de Baja California, 
Asociaci[oacute]n de Productores de Hortalizas del Yaqui y Mayo and 
Sistema Producto Tomate (collectively, Mexican Growers 
Associations). Members of the Mexican Grower Associations are 
Signatories to the 2019 Agreement (Mexican Signatories).
    \2\ See Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico: Suspension of Antidumping 
Duty Investigation, 84 FR 49987 (September 24, 2019) (2019 
Agreement).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On September 29, 2022, the Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE), a member 
of the U.S. petitioning industry, filed a request for an administrative 
review of the 2019 Agreement. Commerce published notice of its 
initiation of the review on November 3, 2022.\3\ On January 30, 2022, 
Commerce selected mandatory respondents and issued questionnaires to 
two respondents, listed here in alphabetical order: Ceuta and 
VALHPAC.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 87 FR 66275 (November 3, 2022).
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated January 30, 
2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the 2019 Agreement

    Merchandise covered by the 2019 Agreement is typically classified 
under the following subheading of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of 
the United States (HTSUS), according to the season of importation: 
0702. The tariff classification is provided for convenience and customs 
purposes; however, the written description of the scope of this 2019 
Agreement is dispositive.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ For a complete description of the scope of the 2019 
Agreement, see Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the 2021-2022 Administrative Review: Fresh Tomatoes from 
Mexico,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, 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 
representatives of the Mexican tomato producers/exporters accounting 
for substantially all imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico signed the 
2019 Agreement, which suspended the underlying AD investigation, on 
September 19, 2019. Pursuant to the 2019 Agreement, the Mexican 
Signatories agreed to sell subject merchandise at or above certain 
minimum reference prices, and that their pricing would eliminate at 
least 85 percent of the dumping determined in the AD investigation.\6\ 
The Mexican signatories also agreed to other conditions, including 
quarterly audits,\7\ near-the-border inspections by the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture on all Round and Roma tomatoes and certain other types 
of tomatoes beginning on April 4, 2020,\8\ and limits to adjustments to 
the sales price due to certain changes in condition and quality after 
shipment.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See 2019 Agreement, 84 FR at section VI.
    \7\ Id., 84 FR at section VII.B.7.
    \8\ Id., 84 FR at section VII.C; see also Memorandum, 
``Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Inspections,'' dated March 
17, 2020.
    \9\ See 2019 Agreement, 84 FR 49996, at Appendix D.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    After reviewing the information received to date from the 
respondent companies in their questionnaire and supplemental 
questionnaire responses, we preliminarily determine that the 
respondents have adhered to the terms of the 2019 Agreement, except for 
certain instances of inconsequential and/or inadvertent noncompliance 
that do not materially frustrate the purposes of the 2019 Agreement. We 
also preliminarily determine that the 2019 Agreement functioned as 
intended and that the 2019 Agreement continued to meet the statutory 
requirements under sections 734(c) and (d) of the Act during the POR.
    For a full description of the analysis underlying our conclusions, 
see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. Commerce examines issues 
involving the discussion of proprietary information concerning each of 
the respondents in separate memoranda which we incorporate into the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\10\ A list of topics discussed in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as an appendix to this 
notice. 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. In 
addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can 
be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ See Memoranda, ``Preliminary Analysis of Proprietary 
Information and Argument Regarding Valores Horticolas del Pacifico 
S.A. de C.V.,'' and ``Preliminary Analysis of Proprietary 
Information and Argument Regarding Ceuta Produce S. de R.L. de 
C.V.,'' both dated concurrently with this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Public Comment

    Case briefs are due 30 days from the publication of these 
preliminary results in the Federal Register. Rebuttal briefs, limited 
to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven 
days after the deadline date for case briefs.\11\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal 
briefs are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) a statement of 
the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.\12\ All briefs must be filed electronically using ACCESS. 
An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its 
entirety by the established deadline. Note that Commerce has 
temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving documents 
containing business proprietary information, until further notice.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \13\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 
10, 2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice.\14\ Requests should 
contain the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be 
limited to

[[Page 69901]]

those raised in the respective case and rebuttal briefs. If a request 
for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time 
and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the 
date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled 
date.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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, unless extended.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: October 2, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Scope of the 2019 Agreement
III. Background
IV. Preliminary Results of Review
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2023-22367 Filed 10-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P