[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 72 (Thursday, April 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22179-22182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07995]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-357-823]


Raw Honey From Argentina: Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value and Final Affirmative Determination of Critical 
Circumstances

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports 
of raw honey from Argentina are being, or are likely to be, sold in the 
United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of 
investigation, April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021.

DATES: Applicable April 14, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Martin or Eva Kim, 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) 482-3936 or (202) 482-8283, 
respectively.

[[Page 22180]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 23, 2021, Commerce published its preliminary 
determination in the LTFV investigation of raw honey from Argentina, 
and also postponed the final determination until April 7, 2022.\1\ 
Commerce invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary 
Determination. For a complete description of the events that followed 
the Preliminary Determination, see the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum.\2\
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    \1\ See Raw Honey from Argentina: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, Postponement of 
Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures, 86 FR 
66531 (November 23, 2021) (Preliminary Determination), and 
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigation of Raw Honey from Argentina,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision 
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is raw honey from 
Argentina. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    No interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as 
it appeared in the Preliminary Determination. Therefore, no changes 
were made to the scope of the investigation.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs that were 
submitted by parties in this investigation are addressed 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.
    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 http://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.

Verification

    Commerce was unable to conduct on-site verification of the 
information relied upon in making its final determination in this 
investigation. However, we took additional steps in lieu of an on-site 
verification to verify the information relied upon in making this final 
determination, in accordance with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act).\3\
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    \3\ See Commerce's Letters, ``Remote Verification 
Questionnaire,'' dated December 6, 2021; and ``Remote Verification 
Questionnaire,'' dated December 13, 2021; see also NEXCO's Letter, 
``Raw Honey from Argentina. Case No. 4-357-823: Remote Verification 
Questionnaire Response for NEXCO S.A. and * * *,'' dated December 
15, 2021; and ACA's Letter, ``Raw Honey from Argentina, Case No. A-
357-823: Remote Verification Questionnaire Response for 
Asociaci[oacute]n de Cooperativas Argentinas C.L. and * * *,'' dated 
December 22, 2021.
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Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, 
Commerce preliminarily determined that critical circumstances existed 
with respect to imports of raw honey from Argentina produced and 
exported by Asociaci[oacute]n de Cooperativas Argentinas Cooperativa 
Limitada (ACA), Industrias Haedo S.A. (Haedo), and 
Compa[ntilde][iacute]a Inversora Platense S.A. (CIPSA) and all other 
producers and exporters.\4\ Commerce did not receive any comments in 
response to its preliminary determination with respect to critical 
circumstances. Accordingly, for the final determination and based on 
our preliminary analysis, we continue to find that critical 
circumstances exist in the final determination.\5\ For a further 
discussion of our critical circumstances analysis, see Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
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    \4\ For a full description of the methodology and results of 
Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see Preliminary 
Determination Memorandum at 12-17 and Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty 
Investigation of Raw Honey from Argentina: Preliminary Critical 
Circumstances Surge Analysis,'' dated November 17, 2021 (Preliminary 
Critical Circumstances Analysis).
    \5\ See Preliminary Critical Circumstances Analysis; and 
``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Raw Honey from Argentina: Final 
Critical Circumstances Surge Analysis,'' dated April 7, 2022.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on the comments received from interested parties and record 
information, we made certain changes to our calculations of the dumping 
margins for ACA and NEXCO S.A. (NEXCO). For a discussion of these 
changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.

Use of Adverse Facts Available

    Both mandatory respondents, Haedo and CIPSA, notified Commerce that 
it would not participate in this investigation.\6\ Therefore, in the 
Preliminary Determination, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the 
Act, we assigned to Haedo and CIPSA the highest Petition margin based 
on adverse facts available (AFA).\7\ No party filed comments concerning 
the Preliminary Determination with respect to Haedo and CIPSA, and 
there is no new information on the record that would cause us to 
revisit the Preliminary Determination. Accordingly, we continue to find 
that the application of AFA pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the 
Act is warranted with respect to these companies. Consistent with the 
Preliminary Determination, Commerce has continued to assign to Haedo 
and CIPSA the highest Petition margin, which is 49.44 percent. We also 
are applying partial AFA in calculating the weighted-average dumping 
margin for ACA, under sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. For a full 
description of Commerce's partial AFA analysis, see the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
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    \6\ See Haedo's Letter, ``Raw Honey from Argentina: Explanation 
of Unique Circumstances,'' dated June 10, 2021; and CIPSA's Letter, 
``Raw Honey from Argentina, Case No. A-357-823: Compa[ntilde]ia 
Inversora Platense S.A. Notification of Non-Participation,'' dated 
June 21, 2021.
    \7\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 8-11.
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All-Others Rate

    Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and exporters 
not individually investigated shall be equal to the weighted average of 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for 
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding rates that 
are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the 
Act. Pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, if the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins established for all of the exporters 
and producers individually examined are zero, de minimis or determined 
based entirely on facts available, Commerce may use any reasonable 
method to establish the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for 
all other producers or exporters not individually investigated. 
Commerce calculated individual estimated weighted-average dumping 
margins for ACA and NEXCO, two of the mandatory respondents which were 
examined as exporters/producers in this investigation. Because ACA and 
NEXCO's calculated dumping margins are not zero, de minimis, or based 
entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce calculated the all-
others rate using a simple average of the

[[Page 22181]]

estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for ACA and 
NEXCO,\8\ pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
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    \8\ With more than one respondent under examination, Commerce 
normally calculates: (A) A weighted-average of the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined 
respondents; (B) a simple average of the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a 
weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins 
calculated for the examined respondents using each company's 
publicly-ranged U.S. sale values 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 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). As complete publicly-ranged 
sales data were available, Commerce based the all-others rate on the 
publicly-ranged sales data of the mandatory respondents. For a 
complete analysis of the data, see Memorandum, ``Less Than Fair 
Value Investigation of Raw Honey from Argentina: Preliminary 
Determination Calculation for the All-Others,'' dated November 19, 
2021.
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Final Determination

    The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asociaci[oacute]n De Cooperativas Argentinas Cooperativa           24.67
 Limitada...................................................
NEXCO S.A...................................................        9.17
Industrias Haedo S.A........................................       49.44
Compa[ntilde][iacute]a Inversora Platense S.A...............       49.44
All Others..................................................       16.92
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed in this final 
determination within five days of the date of publication of this 
notice to parties in this proceeding in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(b).

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce will 
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to 
suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of raw honey from 
Argentina, as described in Appendix I of this notice, which are 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
November 23, 2021, the date of publication in the Federal Register of 
the affirmative Preliminary Determination.
    Section 735(c)(4) of the Act provides that if there is an 
affirmative determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of 
liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the 
later of: (a) The date which is 90 days before the date on which the 
suspension of liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date on which 
notice of initiation of the investigation was published. As noted 
above, Commerce finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of 
subject merchandise produced and/or exported by ACA, Haedo, CIPSA, and 
all other producers and exporters. Therefore, in accordance with 
section 735(c)(4) of the Act, suspension of liquidation shall continue 
to apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise produced and/or 
exported by ACA, Haedo, CIPSA, and by all other producers and exporters 
that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date which is 90 days before the date of publication of the 
Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register.
    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(d), we will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin as follows: (1) The cash 
deposit rate for the respondent listed above will be equal to the 
respondent-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
determined in this final determination; (2) if the exporter is not a 
respondent identified above but the producer is, then the cash deposit 
rate will be equal to the respondent-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin established for that producer of the subject 
merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and 
exporters will be equal to the all-others estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin. These suspension-of-liquidation instructions will 
remain in effect until further notice.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of this final affirmative 
determination of sales at LTFV. Because Commerce's final determination 
is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, the 
ITC will make its final determination as to whether the domestic 
industry in the United States is materially injured, or threatened with 
material injury, no later than 45 days after this final determination. 
If the ITC determines that such injury does not exist, this proceeding 
will be terminated, and all cash deposits posted will be refunded. If 
the ITC determines that material injury or threat of material injury 
does exist, Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order directing CBP 
to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties on 
all imports of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the 
suspension of liquidation.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

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

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination and notice are issued and published pursuant to 
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).

    Dated: April 7, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is raw honey. Raw 
honey is honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by 
extraction, settling and skimming, or coarse straining. Raw honey 
has not been filtered to a level that results in the removal of most 
or all of the pollen, e.g., a level that removes pollen to below 25 
microns. The subject products include all grades, floral sources and 
colors of raw honey and also include organic raw honey.
    Excluded from the scope is any honey that is packaged for retail 
sale (e.g., in bottles or other retail containers of five (5) lbs. 
or less).
    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.

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

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Final Affirmative Determination of

[[Page 22182]]

Critical Circumstances
IV. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
V. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Use of Exporters' Acquisition Price as a Reasonable 
Proxy for the Beekeepers' Cost of Production
    Comment 2: Whether To Use Quarterly or Monthly Cost Averaging 
Periods
    Comment 3: Whether Commerce's Inflation Methodology Requires the 
Use of Monthly Sales Comparisons in Investigations When Sales Prices 
in Both Markets Are Denominated in U.S. Dollars and Where the Only 
Difference in Merchandise Adjustment (Homogenization) Has Been 
Weight Averaged Over the Period
    Comment 4: When Using Acquisition Costs, Whether Commerce Should 
Lag Acquisition Costs by Two Months
    Comment 5: Adjustments to Commerce's Alternative Cost Averaging 
Methodology
    Comment 6: Whether Commerce's Use of the Differential Pricing 
Analysis or the Cohen's d Test Comports With the Federal Circuit's 
Recent Decision in Stupp
    Comment 7: Whether Commerce Should Treat ACA's and NEXCO's 
SENASA-Related Expenses as a U.S. Price Deduction Instead of as 
Circumstance of Sale Adjustment
    Comment 8: Cost of Production Calculation for ACA's Middleman 
Supplier
    Comment 9: Whether To Continue To Apply Facts Available (AFA) 
for ACA's Non-Responsive Direct Beekeeper Supplier and ACA's 
Middleman Beekeeper Supplier
    Comment 10: ACA's Financial Expenses
    Comment 11: Whether Commerce Should Incorporate Bad Debt 
Expenses Within ACA's Financial Expenses
    Comment 12: ACA's General and Administrative Expenses
    Comment 13: Whether Commerce Should Correct Ministerial Errors 
in the Calculation of ACA's Margin for the Final Determination
    Comment 14: Errors in NEXCO's Reported Direct Material Costs
    Comment 15: Errors in Commerce's Direct Material Cost 
Calculations for NEXCO
    Comment 16: Whether Commerce Should Revise NEXCO's Indirect 
Selling Expenses
    Comment 17: Whether Commerce Should Treat NEXCO's Export Taxes 
as a U.S. Price Deduction Instead of as a Circumstance of Sale 
Adjustment
    Comment 18: Whether Commerce Should Add a Price Deduction 
Variable to NEXCO's U.S. Sales Database
    Comment 19: Whether To Apply Partial AFA to NEXCO Due to the 
Unusable Cost Responses Submitted by Its Beekeeper Suppliers
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-07995 Filed 4-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P