[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 177 (Thursday, September 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74207-74210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20620]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-469-817]


Ripe Olives From Spain: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review, and Partial Rescission of Review; 2022-2023

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds 
that producers/exporters subject to this administrative review made 
sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value during the 
period of review (POR), August 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023. In 
addition, we are rescinding the administrative review with respect to 
one company. We invite interested parties to comment on these 
preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable September 12, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria Teresa Aymerich or Drew Jackson, 
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) 482-0499 or (202) 482-
4406, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 1, 2018, Commerce published in the Federal Register the

[[Page 74208]]

antidumping duty order on ripe olives (olives) from Spain.\1\ On August 
2, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of 
opportunity to request an administrative review of the Order.\2\ On 
October 18, 2023, based on timely requests for an administrative 
review, Commerce initiated the administrative review covering five 
companies.\3\ On November 13, 2023, Commerce selected Agro Sevilla 
Aceitunas, S. Coop. And. (Agro Sevilla) and Angel Camacho Alimentacion, 
S.L. (Camacho) as the mandatory respondents in this administrative 
review.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Ripe Olives from Spain: Antidumping Duty Order, 83 FR 
37465 (August 1, 2018); and Ripe Olives from Spain: Notice of 
Correction to Antidumping Duty Order, 83 FR 39691 (August 10, 2018) 
(collectively, Order).
    \2\ 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).
    \3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 71829 (October 18, 2023) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Companies to be Reviewed,'' dated November 
13, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On April 10, 2024, Commerce extended the preliminary results of 
this review to August 30, 2024.\5\ On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled 
certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days.\6\ 
The deadline for the preliminary results is now September 6, 2024. For 
a complete description of the events between the initiation of this 
review and these preliminary results, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated April 10, 
2024.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024.
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Ripe Olives from 
Spain; 2022-2023,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, 
this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is attached as the appendix to this notice. The Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is a public document and is made available to the 
public via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is 
available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, 
a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is available 
at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this Order are olives from Spain. For a 
full description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 751 
of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Export price and 
constructed export price are calculated in accordance with section 772 
of the Act. Normal value is calculated in accordance with section 773 
of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying these 
preliminary results, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Partial Rescission of Review

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an 
administrative review, in whole or in part, if the party that requested 
a review withdraws its request within 90 days of the date of 
publication of the notice of initiation. The request for an 
administrative review of Plasoliva, S.L (Plasoliva) was withdrawn 
within 90 days of the date of publication of the Initiation Notice.\8\ 
No other party requested an administrative review of Plasoliva. As a 
result, Commerce is rescinding this review with respect to this 
company, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ See Plasoliva's Letter, ``Plasoliva, S.L.'s Withdrawal 
Request for Administrative Review,'' dated January 12, 2024.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rate for Non-Selected Companies

    The Act and Commerce's regulations do not address the establishment 
of a 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 a market economy investigation, for 
guidance when calculating the rate for companies which were not 
selected for individual examination in an administrative review. Under 
section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, the all-others rate is normally ``an 
amount equal to the weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually 
investigated excluding any zero or de minimis margins, and any margins 
determined entirely {on the basis of facts available{time} .'' In this 
review, we preliminarily calculated dumping margins for the two 
mandatory respondents, Agro Sevilla and Camacho, of 23.86 and 3.43 
percent, respectively, and have assigned to the non-selected companies 
a rate of 17.67 percent, which is the weighted average dumping margins 
of Agro Sevilla and Camacho weighted by their publicly ranged U.S. 
sales values.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ 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 
respondent using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sales 
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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preliminary Results of Review

    We preliminarily determine that the following estimated weighted-
average dumping margins exist for the period August 1, 2022, through 
July 31, 2023:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
                    Producer/exporter                     dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agro Sevilla Aceitunas, S. Coop. And....................           23.86
Angel Camacho Alimentacion, S.L.........................            3.43
Aceitunera del Norte de C[aacute]ceres, S.Coop.Ltda. de            17.67
 2 Grado................................................
Alimentary Group DCOOP, S.Coop. And.....................           17.67
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed in connection with 
these preliminary results to interested parties within five days after 
public announcement of the preliminary results.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Public Comment

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), interested parties may submit case 
briefs to Commerce no later than 30 days after the date of publication 
of this notice.\11\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the 
case briefs, may be filed no later than five days after the date for 
filing case briefs.\12\ Interested parties who submit case briefs or 
rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a

[[Page 74209]]

statement of the issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective 
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 
2023) (APO and Service Final Rule).
    \13\ See 19 CFR 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 brief that should be limited to five pages 
total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that 
interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public, 
executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\14\ Further, 
we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary 
of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We 
intend to use the executive summaries as the basis of the comment 
summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will 
accompany the final determination in this 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).\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \15\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service 
System (ACCESS). 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 raised in the respective case briefs. An 
electronically filed hearing request must be received successfully in 
its entirety by Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, within 30 
days after the date of publication of this notice. If a request for a 
hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold a hearing at a time and date 
to be determined.\16\ Parties should confirm the date, time, and 
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date. All 
submissions, including case and rebuttal briefs, as well as hearing 
requests, should be filed using ACCESS.\17\ An electronically-filed 
document must be received successfully in its entirety by ACCESS by 
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established deadline.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.303.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assessment Rates

    Upon completion of the final results, Commerce shall determine, and 
the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping 
duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review.\18\ If a 
respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is not zero or de minimis 
(i.e., less than 0.5 percent) in the final results of this review, we 
intend to calculate an importer-specific assessment rate based on the 
ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for each importer's 
examined sales and the total entered value of those same sales in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).\19\ If the respondent's weighted-
average dumping margin or an importer-specific assessment rate is zero 
or de minimis in the final results of this review, we intend to 
instruct CBP not to assess duties on any of its entries in accordance 
with the Final Modification for Reviews.\20\ The final results of this 
administrative review shall be the basis for the assessment of 
antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by the final 
results of this review and for future deposits of estimated duties, 
where applicable.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    \19\ In these preliminary results, Commerce applied the 
assessment rate calculation method adopted in Antidumping 
Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-Average Dumping Margin and 
Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping Duty Proceedings; Final 
Modification, 77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012) (Final Modification for 
Reviews).
    \20\ See Final Modification for Reviews, 77 FR at 8103; see also 
19 CFR 351.106(c)(2).
    \21\ See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by 
either of the individually examined respondents for which they did not 
know that the merchandise was destined for the United States, we will 
instruct CBP to liquidate these entries at the all-others rate if there 
is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the 
transaction.\22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 
68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For the companies identified above that were not selected for 
individual examination, we will instruct CBP to liquidate entries at 
the rates established after the completion of the final results of 
review.
    Because Commerce is rescinding this review with respect to 
Plasoliva, we will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on all 
appropriate entries of subject merchandise during the POR from this 
company at a rate equal to the cash deposit rate for estimated 
antidumping duties that was required at the time of entry, or 
withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.212(c)(1)(i). Commerce intends to issue its rescission instructions 
to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register.
    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).

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements for estimated antidumping 
duties will be effective upon publication in the Federal Register of 
the notice of final results of this review for all shipments of olives 
from Spain entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date of publication as provided by section 751(a)(2) of the 
Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for companies subject to this review 
will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margins established in 
the final results of the review; (2) for merchandise exported by 
companies not covered in this review but covered in a prior segment of 
this proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-
specific rate published in the completed segment for the most recent 
period; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a 
prior review, or the original less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation 
but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate 
established in the completed segment for the most recent period for the 
producer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all 
other producers or exporters will continue to be 19.98 percent,\23\ the 
all-others rate established in the LTFV investigation. These cash 
deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until 
further notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \23\ See Order, 83 FR at 37466; see also Amended Order, 83 FR at 
39692.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Results of Review

    Unless extended, Commerce intends to issue the final results of 
this administrative review, including the results of its analysis of 
the issues raised

[[Page 74210]]

in any written briefs, no later than 120 days after the date of 
publication of this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act 
and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).

Notification to Importers

    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping and/or countervailing 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 and/or countervailing duties occurred 
and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties, and/or an 
increase in the amount of antidumping duties by the amount of 
countervailing duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    These preliminary results and notice are issued and published in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, 19 CFR 
351.213(d)(4), 19 CFR 351.213(h) and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: September 5, 2024.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy 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. Rescission of Review, In Part
V. Rate for Non-Selected Companies
VI. Discussion of the Methodology
VII. Currency Conversion
VIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-20620 Filed 9-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P