[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37469-37471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16449]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-469-818]


Ripe Olives From Spain: Amended Final Affirmative Countervailing 
Duty Determination and Countervailing Duty Order

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

SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of 
Commerce (Commerce) and the International Trade Commission (the ITC), 
Commerce is issuing a countervailing duty (CVD) order on ripe olives 
from Spain. In addition, Commerce is amending its final CVD 
determination with respect to ripe olives from Spain to correct 
ministerial errors.

DATES: Applicable August 1, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Kolberg or Lana Nigro, AD/CVD 
Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1785 or (202) 482-1779, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In accordance with sections 705(a), 705(d), and 777(i)(1) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.210(c), on 
June 18, 2018, Commerce published in the Federal Register an 
affirmative final determination in the CVD investigation of ripe olives 
from Spain.\1\ Interested parties submitted timely filed allegations 
that Commerce made certain ministerial errors in the final CVD 
determination of ripe olives from Spain. Section 705(e) of the Act and 
19 CFR 351.224(f) define ministerial errors as errors in addition, 
subtraction, or other arithmetic function, clerical errors resulting 
from inaccurate copying, duplication, or the like, and any other type 
of unintentional error which the Commerce considers ministerial. We 
reviewed the allegations and determined that we made certain 
ministerial errors. See ``Amendment to the Final Determination'' 
section below for further discussion.
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    \1\ See Ripe Olives from Spain: Final Affirmative Countervailing 
Duty Determination, 83 FR 28186 (June 18, 2018) (Final 
Determination) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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    On July 25, 2018, the ITC notified Commerce of its affirmative 
determination pursuant to sections 705(b)(1)(A)(i) and 705(d) of the 
Act, that an industry in the United States is materially injured by 
reason of subsidized imports of ripe olives from Spain.\2\
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    \2\ See Letter from the ITC to Commerce, dated July 25, 2018; 
see also Ripe Olives from Spain (Investigation Nos. 701-TA-582 and 
731-TA-1377 (Final), USITC Publication 4805, July 2018).
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Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by this order is ripe olives from Spain. 
For a complete description of the scope of this order, see the Appendix 
to this notice.

Amendment to the Final Determination

    On June 19, 2018, the petitioner,\3\ Aceitunas Guadalquivir S.L.U. 
(Aceitunas Guadalquivir), and Angel Camacho Alimentaci[oacute]n, S.L. 
(Angel Camacho) timely alleged that the Final Determination contained 
certain ministerial errors and requested that Commerce correct such 
errors. On June 25, 2018, the petitioner filed rebuttal comments.
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    \3\ The petitioner to this investigation is the Coalition for 
Fair Trade in Ripe Olives, whose individual member are BellCarter 
Foods, Inc. and Musco Family Olive Co.
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    Commerce reviewed the record and, on July 12, 2018, agreed that 
certain errors referenced in the petitioner's and Angel Camacho's 
allegations constitute ministerial errors within the meaning of section 
705(e) of the Act and 19 CFR

[[Page 37470]]

351.224(f).\4\ Commerce did not agree that the error alleged in 
Aceitunas Guadalquivir's submission constituted a ministerial error. 
Commerce found that it made errors in calculating Angel Camacho's 
benefit under the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Pillar I: 
Basic Payment Scheme--Greening program, and in attributing to Angel 
Camacho subsidies received by its cross-owned input suppliers.\5\ 
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce is amending the Final 
Determination to reflect the correction of the ministerial errors 
described above. Based on our correction of the ministerial errors in 
Angel Camacho's calculation, the subsidy rate for Angel Camacho 
increased from 13.22 percent ad valorem to 13.76 percent ad valorem.\6\ 
Because in the Final Determination we based the ``all-others'' rate, in 
part, on Angel Camacho's ad valorem subsidy rate,\7\ the correction 
described above also required that we recalculate the ``all-others'' 
rate. This recalculation increases the ``all-others'' rate determined 
in the Final Determination from 14.75 percent ad valorem to 14.97 
percent ad valorem.\8\
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Ripe Olives from Spain: Amended Final 
Determination of Countervailing Duty Investigation Pursuant to 
Ministerial Error Allegation,'' dated July 12, 2018 (Ministerial 
Error Memorandum).
    \5\ Id.
    \6\ Id.
    \7\ Final Determination, 83 FR at 28187.
    \8\ See Ministerial Error Memorandum.
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Countervailing Duty Order

    On July 25, 2018, in accordance with sections 705(b)(1)(A)(i) and 
705(d) of the Act, the ITC notified Commerce of its final determination 
in this investigation, in which it found that an industry in the United 
States is materially injured by reason of subsidized imports of ripe 
olives from Spain. Therefore, in accordance with section 705(c)(2) of 
the Act, we are issuing this CVD order. Because the ITC determined that 
imports of ripe olives from Spain are materially injuring a U.S. 
industry, unliquidated entries of such merchandise from Spain, entered 
or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, are subject to the 
assessment of countervailing duties.
    Therefore, in accordance with section 706(a) of the Act, Commerce 
will direct United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties 
equal to the net countervailable subsidy rates, for all relevant 
entries of ripe olives from Spain. Upon further instruction by 
Commerce, countervailing duties will be assessed on unliquidated 
entries of ripe olives from Spain entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after November 28, 2017, the date of publication 
of the Preliminary Determination.\9\
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    \9\ See Ripe Olives from Spain: Preliminary Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final 
Determination with Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 82 FR 56218 
(November 28, 2017) (Preliminary Determination) and accompanying 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). 
However, as described further below, entries that occurred after the 
final day on which provisional measures were in effect, until and 
through the day preceding the date of publication of the ITC's final 
injury determination in the Federal Register, are not subject to 
countervailing duties.
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Cash Deposits and Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 706 of the Act, we will instruct CBP to 
suspend liquidation on all relevant entries of ripe olives from Spain, 
as further described below. These instructions suspending liquidation 
will remain in effect until further notice. Commerce will also instruct 
CBP to require cash deposits equal to the amounts as indicated below. 
Accordingly, effective on the date of publication of the ITC's final 
affirmative injury determination, CBP will require, at the same time as 
importers would normally deposit estimated duties on this subject 
merchandise, a cash deposit equal to the subsidy rates listed 
below.\10\ The all-others rate applies to all producers or exporters 
not specifically listed, as appropriate.
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    \10\ See section 706(a)(3) of the Act.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                                (%)
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Aceitunas Guadalquivir S.L.U \11\.......................           27.02
Agro Sevilla Aceitunas S.Coop.And.......................            7.52
Angel Camacho Alimentaci[oacute]n, S.L \12\.............           13.76
All-Others..............................................           14.97
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Provisional Measures
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    \11\ Commerce found the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Aceitunas Guadalquivir S.L.U.: Coromar Inv., S.L., AG 
Explotaciones Agricolas, S.L.U., and Grupo Aceitunas Guadalquivir, 
S.L. See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 9, unchanged in Final 
Determination.
    \12\ Commerce found the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Angel Camacho Alimentaci[oacute]n, S.L.: Grupo Angel Camacho 
Alimentac[iacute]on, Cuarterola S.L., and Cucanoche S.L. See 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 11, unchanged in Final 
Determination.
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    Section 703(d) of the Act states that the suspension of liquidation 
pursuant to an affirmative preliminary CVD determination may not remain 
in effect for more than four months. In the underlying investigation, 
Commerce published the Preliminary Determination on November 28, 2017. 
Therefore, the four-month period beginning on the date of the 
publication of the Preliminary Determination ended on March 27, 2018, 
the final day on which provisional measures were in effect. 
Furthermore, section 707(b) of the Act states that definitive duties 
are to begin on the date of publication of the ITC's final injury 
determination. Therefore, in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act 
and our practice, we instructed CBP to terminate the suspension of 
liquidation of and to liquidate, without regard to duties, unliquidated 
entries of ripe olives from Spain made on or after March 28, 2018. 
Suspension of liquidation will resume on the date of publication of the 
ITC's final determination in the Federal Register.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice constitutes the CVD order with respect to ripe olives 
from Spain pursuant to section 706(a) of the Act. Interested parties 
can find a list of CVD orders currently in effect at http://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.
    This order and amended final determination are published in 
accordance with section 705(d)-(e), 706(a), and 777(i)(1) of the Act 
and 19 CFR 351.211(b).


[[Page 37471]]


    Dated: July 25, 2018.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this order are certain processed olives, 
usually referred to as ``ripe olives.'' The subject merchandise 
includes all colors of olives; all shapes and sizes of olives, 
whether pitted or not pitted, and whether whole, sliced, chopped, 
minced, wedged, broken, or otherwise reduced in size; all types of 
packaging, whether for consumer (retail) or institutional (food 
service) sale, and whether canned or packaged in glass, metal, 
plastic, multilayered airtight containers (including pouches), or 
otherwise; and all manners of preparation and preservation, whether 
low acid or acidified, stuffed or not stuffed, with or without 
flavoring and/or saline solution, and including in ambient, 
refrigerated, or frozen conditions.
    Included are all ripe olives grown, processed in whole or in 
part, or packaged in Spain. Subject merchandise includes ripe olives 
that have been further processed in Spain or a third country, 
including but not limited to curing, fermenting, rinsing, oxidizing, 
pitting, slicing, chopping, segmenting, wedging, stuffing, 
packaging, or heat treating, or any other processing that would not 
otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the order if 
performed in Spain.
    Subject merchandise includes ripe olives that otherwise meet the 
definition above that are packaged together with non-subject 
products, where the smallest individual packaging unit (e.g., can, 
pouch, jar, etc.) of any such product--regardless of whether the 
smallest unit of packaging is included in a larger packaging unit 
(e.g., display case, etc.)--contains a majority (i.e., more than 50 
percent) of ripe olives by net drained weight. The scope does not 
include the non-subject components of such product.
    Excluded from the scope are: (1) Specialty olives \13\ 
(including ``Spanish-style,'' ``Sicilian-style,'' and other similar 
olives) that have been processed by fermentation only, or by being 
cured in an alkaline solution for not longer than 12 hours and 
subsequently fermented; and (2) provisionally prepared olives 
unsuitable for immediate consumption (currently classifiable in 
subheading 0711.20 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS)).
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    \13\ Some of the major types of specialty olives and their 
curing methods are:
     ``Spanish-style'' green olives: Spanish-style green 
olives have a mildly salty, slightly bitter taste, and are usually 
pitted and stuffed. This style of olive is primarily produced in 
Spain and can be made from various olive varieties. Most are stuffed 
with pimento; other popular stuffings are jalapeno, garlic, and 
cheese. The raw olives that are used to produce Spanish-style green 
olives are picked while they are unripe, after which they are 
submerged in an alkaline solution for typically less than a day to 
partially remove their bitterness, rinsed, and fermented in a strong 
salt brine, giving them their characteristic flavor.
     ``Sicilian-style'' green olives: Sicilian-style olives 
are large, firm green olives with a natural bitter and savory 
flavor. This style of olive is produced in small quantities in the 
United States using a Sevillano variety of olive and harvested green 
with a firm texture. Sicilian-style olives are processed using a 
brine-cured method, and undergo a full fermentation in a salt and 
lactic acid brine for 4 to 9 months. These olives may be sold whole 
unpitted, pitted, or stuffed.
     ``Kalamata'' olives: Kalamata olives are slightly 
curved in shape, tender in texture, and purple in color, and have a 
rich natural tangy and savory flavor. This style of olive is 
produced in Greece using a Kalamata variety olive. The olives are 
harvested after they are fully ripened on the tree, and typically 
use a brine-cured fermentation method over 4 to 9 months in a salt 
brine.
     Other specialty olives in a full range of colors, 
sizes, and origins, typically fermented in a salt brine for 3 months 
or more.
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    The merchandise subject to this order is currently classifiable 
under subheadings 2005.70.0230, 2005.70.0260, 2005.70.0430, 
2005.70.0460, 2005.70.5030, 2005.70.5060, 2005.70.6020, 
2005.70.6030, 2005.70.6050, 2005.70.6060, 2005.70.6070, 
2005.70.7000, 2005.70.7510, 2005.70.7515, 2005.70.7520, and 
2005.70.7525 HTSUS. Subject merchandise may also be imported under 
subheadings 2005.70.0600, 2005.70.0800, 2005.70.1200, 2005.70.1600, 
2005.70.1800, 2005.70.2300, 2005.70.2510, 2005.70.2520, 
2005.70.2530, 2005.70.2540, 2005.70.2550, 2005.70.2560, 
2005.70.9100, 2005.70.9300, and 2005.70.9700. Although HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes, 
they do not define the scope of the order; rather, the written 
description of the subject merchandise is dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2018-16449 Filed 7-31-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P