[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 62 (Thursday, March 31, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18765-18766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06831]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-820]


Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh 
Tomatoes From Mexico: Final Results of the 2019-2020 Administrative 
Review

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) continues to find that 
the respondents selected for individual examination, Bioparques De 
Occidente, S.A. de C.V. and its affiliates (Bioparques), Del Campo Y 
Asociados SA de CV and its affiliates (Del Campo), and Productora 
Agricola Industrial del Noroeste, SA de CV and its affiliates 
(Productora Agricola), (collectively mandatory respondents), were 
generally in compliance with the terms of the Agreement Suspending the 
Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico (2019 
Agreement) during the period of review (POR) from September 19, 2019, 
through August 31, 2020, with the exception of certain instances of 
non-compliance. Commerce continues to find such instances of non-
compliance to be inconsequential and/or inadvertent, and thus not 
violations under the 2019 Agreement, and that the 2019 Agreement is 
meeting the statutory requirements under sections 734(c) and (d) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).

DATES: Applicable March 31, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon or David Cordell, 
Enforcement and 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 October 1, 2021, Commerce published the Preliminary Results of

[[Page 18766]]

this administrative review.\1\ On October 8, 2021, Commerce issued 
questionnaires in lieu of on-site verification to each of the 
respondents,\2\ to which each respondent filed its response on October 
18, 2021.\3\ On October 21, 2021, Commerce set the briefing 
schedule.\4\ On November 16, 2021, a member of the U.S. petitioning 
industry, the Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE), and Del Campo,\5\ filed 
case briefs,\6\ and on November 24, 2021, each of the mandatory 
respondents filed a rebuttal brief.\7\ On January 18, 2022, Commerce 
extended the deadline for the final results to March 30, 2022.\8\
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    \1\ See Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation 
on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico; Preliminary Results of 2019-2020 
Administrative Review, 86 FR 54424 (October 1, 2021) (Preliminary 
Results).
    \2\ See Commerce's Letters, ``In Lieu of On-Site Verification 
Questionnaire for Productora Agricola Industrial del Noroeste, SA de 
CV and its Affiliates,'' dated October 8, 2021; ``In-Lieu of On-Site 
Verification Questionnaire for Bioparques de Occidente, S.A. de C.V. 
and its Affiliates,'' dated October 8, 2021; and ``In-Lieu of On-
Site Verification Questionnaire for Del Campo Y Asociados, S.A. de 
C.V.,'' dated October 8, 2021.
    \3\ See Productora Agricola's Letter, ``Response of Productora 
Agricola Industrial del Noroeste, S.A. de C.V. to the Department's 
October 8, 2021 In Lieu of On-Site Verification Questionnaire,'' 
dated October 18, 2021; Bioparques' Letter, ``Response of Bioparques 
de Occidente, S.A. de C.V. to the Department's October 8, 2021 In 
Lieu of On-Site Verification Questionnaire,'' dated October 18, 
2021; and Del Campo's Letter, ``Response of Del Campo Y Asociados, 
S.A. de C.V. to the Department's October 8, 2021 In Lieu of On-Site 
Verification Questionnaire,'' dated October 18, 2021.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Briefing Schedule,'' dated October 21, 
2021.
    \5\ See Del Campo's Letter, ``Case Brief of Del Campo Y 
Asociados, S.A. de C.V.,'' dated November 16, 2021.
    \6\ See FTE's Letter, ``Case Brief on Behalf of the Florida 
Tomato Exchange,'' dated November 16, 2021.
    \7\ See Del Campo's Letter, ``Rebuttal Brief of Del Campo Y 
Asociados, S.A. de C.V.,'' dated November 24, 2021; Bioparques' 
Letter, ``Rebuttal Brief of Bioparques de Occidente, S.A. de C.V.,'' 
dated November 24, 2021; and Productora Agricola's Letter, 
``Rebuttal Brief of Productora Agricola Industrial del Noroeste, 
S.A. de C.V.,'' dated November 24, 2021.
    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Final Results of 
the Administrative Review of the Agreement Suspending the 
Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico (2019 
Agreement),'' dated January 18, 2022.
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Scope of 2019 Agreement

    The merchandise subject to this 2019 Agreement is all fresh or 
chilled tomatoes (fresh tomatoes) which have Mexico as their origin, 
except for those tomatoes which are for processing. For purposes of 
this 2019 Agreement, processing is defined to include preserving by any 
commercial process, such as canning, dehydrating, drying, or the 
addition of chemical substances, or converting the tomato product into 
juices, sauces, or purees. In Appendix F of this 2019 Agreement, 
Commerce has outlined the procedure that Signatories must follow for 
selling subject merchandise for processing. Fresh tomatoes that are 
imported for cutting up, not further processing (e.g., tomatoes used in 
the preparation of fresh salsa or salad bars), are covered by this 2019 
Agreement. Commercially grown tomatoes, both for the fresh market and 
for processing, are classified as Lycopersicon esculentum. Important 
commercial varieties of fresh tomatoes include common round, cherry, 
grape, plum, greenhouse, and pear tomatoes, all of which are covered by 
this 2019 Agreement. Tomatoes imported from Mexico covered by this 2019 
Agreement are classified under the following subheading of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States (HTSUS), according to 
the season of importation: 0702. Although this HTSUS number is provided 
for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
scope of this Agreement is dispositive.
    A full description of the scope of the order is also contained in 
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\9\
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    \9\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Results of the Administrative Review of the Agreement 
Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from 
Mexico, for the period September 19, 2019, through August 31, 
2020,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 
(Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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Analysis

    Commerce continues to find, based on record evidence, that the 
selected respondents, Bioparques, Del Campo and Productora Agricola, 
were generally in compliance with the terms of the 2019 Agreement 
during the POR, with the exception of certain non-compliance which 
Commerce continues to find inconsequential and inadvertent. Therefore, 
Commerce finds that there have been no material or consequential 
violations of the 2019 Agreement by the selected respondents during the 
POR. We also determine that the 2019 Agreement is preventing price 
suppression or undercutting and can be effectively monitored.
    The issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs are addressed in 
the accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum and business 
proprietary memoranda.\10\ The issues are identified in the Appendix to 
this notice. The Issues and 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 Issues and 
Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \10\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum; see also Memorandum, 
``Final Analysis of Proprietary Information and Argument Regarding 
Bioparques de Occidente, S.A. de C.V. and its Affiliates,'' dated 
concurrently with this memorandum; Memorandum, ``Final Analysis of 
Proprietary Information and Argument Regarding Del Campo Asociados 
and Its Affiliates,'' dated concurrently with this memorandum; and 
Memorandum, ``Final Analysis of Proprietary Information and Argument 
Regarding Productora Agricola Industrial del Noroeste, SA de CV and 
its Affiliates,'' dated concurrently with this memorandum. These 
memoranda are hereby adopted by this notice.
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Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Order

    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information 
disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely 
written notification of the return or destruction of APO materials or 
conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to 
comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable 
violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing these results of review in accordance 
with sections 751(a)(l) and 777(i)(l) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213 and 
19 CFR 351.221(b)(5).

    Dated: March 25, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Scope of the Agreement
III. Background
IV. Discussion of the Issue
    1. Alleged Possible Violations of the 2019 Agreement
    2. Normal Value Adjustment to Account for Differences in 
Physical Characteristics
    3. Reconciliation of U.S. Sales at Verification with Respect to 
Bioparques
    4. Movement Expenses in Del Campo's Sample Dumping Calculation
V. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-06831 Filed 3-30-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P