[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 210 (Thursday, October 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68563-68564]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23924]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-201-846]
Agreement Suspending the Countervailing Duty Investigation on
Sugar From Mexico: Final Results of the 2018 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 were in compliance
with the Agreement Suspending the Countervailing Duty Investigation on
Sugar from Mexico (CVD Agreement), as amended on June 30, 2017
(collectively, amended CVD Agreement), and that the amended CVD
Agreement is meeting the statutory requirements under sections 704(c)
and (d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), during the
period of review (POR) from January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2018.
DATES: Applicable October 29, 2020.
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 February 6, 2020, Commerce published the Preliminary Results of
this administrative review.\1\ On March 6, 2020, the American Sugar
Coalition and its members (collectively ASC),\2\ the petitioners, filed
a request for a hearing, which they later withdrew.\3\ On June 24,
2020, Commerce set the briefing schedule for the final results of this
review.\4\ On July 6, 2020, the ASC filed a case brief and the
Government of Mexico (GOM) filed a letter in lieu of a case brief.\5\
On July 13, 2020, the respondents filed a letter in lieu of a rebuttal
brief.\6\
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\1\ See Suspension Agreement on Sugar From Mexico; 2018
Administrative Review of the Agreement Suspending the Countervailing
Duty Investigation on Sugar From Mexico (as Amended), 85 FR 6906
(February 6, 2020) (Preliminary Results).
\2\ The members of the ASC are as follows: American Sugar Cane
League, American Sugarbeet Growers Association, American Sugar
Refining, Inc., Florida Sugar Cane League, Rio Grande Valley Sugar
Growers, Inc., Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, and the
United States Beet Sugar Association.
\3\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Sugar from Mexico: Request for
Hearing'' dated March 6, 2020; see also ``Sugar from Mexico:
Withdrawal of Request for a Hearing,'' dated July 16, 2020.
\4\ See Memorandum, ``Establishment of Briefing Schedule for the
2017-2018 Administrative Reviews of the Agreement Suspending the
Antidumping Investigation on Sugar from Mexico and the Agreement
Suspending the Countervailing Duty Investigation on Sugar from
Mexico,'' dated June 24, 2020.
\5\ See GOM Letter, ``Administrative Review of the Agreement
Suspending the Countervailing Duty Investigation on Sugar from
Mexico: Letter in Lieu of Case Brief,'' dated July 6, 2020; see also
ASC Case Brief, ``Case Brief filed by the American Sugar Coalition
and its Members,'' dated July 6, 2020.
\6\ See Letter in Lieu of Rebuttal brief filed by C[aacute]mara
Nacional de Las Industrias Azucarera y Alcoholera (C[aacute]mara)
``Sugar from Mexico--Rebuttal Brief,'' dated July 13, 2020.
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On April 24, 2020, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative
reviews by 50 days.\7\ On July 14, 2020, Commerce extended the deadline
for the
[[Page 68564]]
final results of this review by 30 days.\8\ On July 21, 2020, Commerce
tolled all deadlines in administrative reviews by an additional 60
days.\9\ As a result, the final results of this administrative review
are due no later than October 23, 2020.
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\7\ See Memorandum to the Record, from Jeffrey I. Kessler,
``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews in Response to Operational Adjustments Due to
COVID-19,'' dated April 24, 2020.
\8\ See Memorandum to Joseph A. Laroski Jr., Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Policy & Negotiations, ``Extension of Deadlines for
Final Results of the Administrative Review of the Agreement
Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Sugar from Mexico
and for Final Results of the Administrative Review of the Agreement
Suspending the Countervailing Duty Investigation on Sugar from
Mexico,'' dated July 14, 2020.
\9\ See Memorandum to the Record, from Jeffrey I. Kessler,
``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews,'' dated July 21, 2020.
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Scope of Amended CVD Agreement
The product covered by this amended CVD Agreement is raw and
refined sugar of all polarimeter readings derived from sugar cane or
sugar beets.
Merchandise covered by this amended CVD Agreement is typically
imported under the following headings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States (HTSUS): 1701.12.1000, 1701.12.5000, 1701.13.1000,
1701.13.5000, 1701.14.1000, 1701.14.1020, 1701.14.1040, 1701.14.5000,
1701.91.1000, 1701.91.3000, 1701.99.1010, 1701.99.1015, 1701.99.1017,
1701.99.1025, 1701.99.1050, 1701.99.5010, 1701.99.5015, 170.99.5017,
1701.99.5025, 1701.99.5050, 1702.90.4000, and 1703.10.3000. The tariff
classification is provided for convenience and customs purposes;
however, the written description of the scope of this amended CVD
Agreement is dispositive.
A full description of the scope of the amended CVD Agreement is
contained in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\10\
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\10\ See Memorandum to Jeffrey I. Kessler, Assistant Secretary
for Enforcement and Compliance, from Joseph A. Laroski, Jr., Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Policy & Negotiations, ``Issues and Decision
Memorandum for the Final Results of the Administrative Review of the
Agreement Suspending the Countervailing Duty Investigation on Sugar
from Mexico, for the period January 1, 2018 through December 31,
2018,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice
(Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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Analysis
Commerce continues to find that the GOM and selected respondents,
Ingenio Adolfo L[oacute]pez Mateos S.A. de C.V. and its affiliates \11\
(Grupo PIASA) and Ingenio P[aacute]nuco S.A.P.I. de C.V.
(P[aacute]nuco), were in compliance with the terms of the amended CVD
Agreement \12\ during the POR, and that the amended CVD Agreement is
functioning as intended. Further, we continue to determine that the
amended CVD Agreement is meeting its statutory requirements under
sections 704(c) and (d) of the Act. Finally, we determine that the
amended CVD Agreement can be effectively monitored, and there have been
no violations by the selected respondents of the amended CVD Agreement
during the POR.
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\11\ The affiliates of Ingenio Adolfo L6pez Mateos, S.A. de C.V.
are Ingenio Tres Valles, S.A. de C.V. and Piasa Ingenio Plan de San
Luis, S.A. de C.V. (collectively, Grupo PIASA).
\12\ See Agreement Suspending the Countervailing Duty
Investigation of Sugar from Mexico, 79 FR 78044 (December 29, 2014)
and Sugar From Mexico: Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the
Countervailing Duty Investigation, 82 FR 31942 (July 11, 2017) (CVD
Amendment). Consistent with a ruling from the Court of International
Trade, Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of the
termination of the 2017 CVD Amendment (which was in effect during
period of review), with an applicable date of December 7, 2019. See
Sugar from Mexico: Notice of Termination of Amendment to the
Agreement Suspending the Countervailing Duty Investigation, 84 FR
67718 (December 11, 2019).
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The issue raised in the case and rebuttal briefs is addressed in
the accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum and business
proprietary memorandum.\13\ The issue is also 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 http://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly on the internet at http://trade.gov/enforcement/frn/index.html. The signed Issues and Decision
Memorandum and electronic versions of the Issues and Decision
Memorandum are identical in content.
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\13\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum; see also Memorandum to
the File from David Cordell, through Sally C. Gannon, Director for
Bilateral Agreements, ``Proprietary Analysis of Final Results of the
Administrative Review of the Agreement Suspending the Countervailing
Duty Investigation on Sugar from Mexico, for the Period January 1,
2018, through December 31, 2018'' dated concurrently with, and
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: October 21, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Scope of the Agreement
III. Background
IV. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Whether Certain Behavior of Mexican Sugar Mills
Violated the Terms of the Amended CVD Agreement
V. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2020-23924 Filed 10-28-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P