[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 188 (Friday, September 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51112-51114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21003]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-489-835]


Dried Tart Cherries From the Republic of Turkey: Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that dried tart cherries (cherries) from the Republic of Turkey 
(Turkey) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at 
less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 
1, 2018 through March 31, 2019. Interested parties are invited to 
comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable September 27, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alex Wood or Alice Maldonado, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230, telephone: (202) 482-1959 or (202) 482-4682, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on May 20, 
2019.\1\ For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\2\ A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary 
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, and to all parties in the 
Central Records Unit, room B8024 of the main Commerce building. In 
addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can 
be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed 
and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are 
identical in content.
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    \1\ See Dried Tart Cherries from the Republic of Turkey: 
Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 84 FR 22809 (May 
20, 2019) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Dried 
Tart Cherries from the Republic of Turkey,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are dried tart cherries 
from Turkey. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\3\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\4\ No interested party 
commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the 
Initiation Notice. Therefore, Commerce is not preliminarily modifying 
the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the 
scope in Appendix I to this notice.
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    \3\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \4\ See Initiation Notice, 84 FR at 22810.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, 
Commerce has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available with 
adverse inferences for Isik Tarim Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Isik 
Tarim) and Yamanlar Tarim Urunleri (Yamanlar). For a full description 
of the methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that 
in the preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated 
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually 
examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for 
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero 
and de minimis margins, and any

[[Page 51113]]

margins determined entirely under section 776 of the Act. We cannot 
apply the methodology described in section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act to 
calculate the all-others rate, as the margins in this preliminary 
determination were calculated 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 exporters and 
producers individually examined are zero, de minimis or determined 
based entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce may use any 
reasonable method to establish the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin for all other producers or exporters. In cases where dumping 
margins are determined entirely under section 776 of the Act for 
individually examined entities, Commerce's normal practice under these 
circumstances is to calculate the all-others rate as a simple average 
of the alleged dumping margin(s) from the petition.\5\ Therefore, as 
the all-others rate, we are assigning the simple average of the dumping 
margins alleged in the Petition, which is 541.29 percent. For a full 
description of the methodology underlying Commerce's analysis, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \5\ See, e.g., Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of 
Germany, 73 FR 21909, 21912 (April 23, 2008), unchanged in Notice of 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite 
from the Federal Republic of Germany, 73 FR 38986, 38987 (July 8, 
2008), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 2; 
see also Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value: Raw Flexible Magnets from Taiwan, 73 FR 39673, 39674 (July 
10, 2008); and Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand: Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative 
Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, 78 FR 79670, 
79671 (December 31, 2013), unchanged in Steel Threaded Rod from 
Thailand: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Affirmative Final Determination of Critical Circumstances, 79 FR 
14476, 14477 (March 14, 2014).
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
dumping margins exist during the period April 1, 2018 through March 31, 
2019:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Margin
                      Producer/exporter                        (percent)
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Isik Tarim Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S...................    **648.35
Yamanlar Tarim Urunleri.....................................    **648.35
All Others..................................................      541.29
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**Adverse Facts Available (AFA)

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
    Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal 
to the estimated dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as 
follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for the respondents listed above 
will be equal to the company-specific estimated dumping margins 
determined in this preliminary 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 company-specific estimated 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 simple-average dumping margin. These 
suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until 
further notice.
    Commerce normally adjusts cash deposits for estimated antidumping 
duties by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in a companion 
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding, when CVD provisional measures are 
in effect. However, in this investigation, we made no adjustments to 
the all-others antidumping cash deposit rates because Commerce made no 
findings in the companion CVD investigation that any of the subsidies 
in question are export subsidies.\6\
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    \6\ See Dried Tart Cherries from the Republic of Turkey: 
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination (signed on 
July 31, 2019);see also Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe 
from Pakistan: Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination and 
Extension of Provisional Measures, 81 FR 36867 (June 8, 2016) and 
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum at page 13, unchanged 
in Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe from Pakistan: Final 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 81 FR 
75028 (October 28, 2016).
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Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five 
days of any public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date of publication of the notice of 
preliminary determination in the Federal Register, in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce preliminarily applied AFA 
to the individually examined companies, Isik Tarim and Yamanlar, in 
this investigation, in accordance with section 776 of the Act, and the 
applied AFA rate is based solely on the petition, there are no 
calculations to disclose.

Verification

    Because the examined respondents in this investigation did not 
respond to the antidumping questionnaire, we will not conduct 
verification.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 
days after the date of publication of the preliminary determination. 
Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be 
submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for case 
briefs.\7\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who 
submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation are 
encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; 
(2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also, 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a time 
and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the 
date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled 
date.

Final Determination

    Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that 
Commerce will issue the final determination within 75 days after the 
date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, Commerce will make 
its final determination no later than 75 days after the signature date 
of this preliminary determination.

[[Page 51114]]

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination 
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: September 20, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of this investigation covers dried tart cherries, 
which may also be referred to as, e.g., dried sour cherries or dried 
red tart cherries. Dried tart cherries may be processed from any 
variety of tart cherries. Tart cherries are generally classified as 
Prunus cerasus. Types of tart cherries include, but are not limited 
to, Amarelle, Kutahya, Lutowka, Montmorency, Morello, and 
Oblacinska. Dried tart cherries are covered by the scope of this 
investigation regardless of the horticulture method through which 
the cherries were produced (e.g., organic or not), whether or not 
they contain any added sugar or other sweetening matter, whether or 
not they are coated in oil or rice flour, whether infused or not 
infused, and regardless of the infusion ingredients, including 
sugar, sucrose, fruit juice, and any other infusion ingredients. The 
scope includes partially rehydrated dried tart cherries that retain 
the character of dried fruit. The subject merchandise covers all 
shapes, sizes, and colors of dried tart cherries, whether pitted or 
unpitted, and whether whole, chopped, minced, crumbled, broken, or 
otherwise reduced in size. The scope covers dried tart cherries in 
all types of packaging, regardless of the size or packaging 
material.
    Included in the scope of this investigation are dried tart 
cherries that otherwise meet the definition above that are packaged 
with non-subject products, including, but not limited to, mixtures 
of dried fruits and mixtures of dried fruits and nuts, where the 
smallest individual packaging unit of any such product contains a 
majority (i.e., 50 percent or more) of dried tart cherries by dry 
net weight. Only the dried tart cherry components of such products 
are covered by this investigation; the scope does not include the 
non-subject components of such products.
    Included in the scope of this investigation are dried tart 
cherries that have been further processed in a third country, 
including but not limited to processing by stabilizing, preserving, 
sweetening, adding oil or syrup, coating, chopping, mincing, 
crumbling, packaging with non-subject products, or other packaging, 
or any other processing that would not otherwise remove the 
merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the 
country of manufacture of the dried tart cherries.
    Excluded from the scope of this investigation are dried tart 
cherries that have been incorporated as an ingredient in finished 
bakery and confectionary items (cakes, cookies, candy, granola bars, 
etc.).
    The subject merchandise is currently classifiable under 
0813.40.3000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS). The subject merchandise may also enter under subheadings 
0813.40.9000, 0813.50.0020, 0813.50.0060, 2006.00.2000, 
2006.00.5000, and 2008.60.0060. The HTSUS subheadings set forth 
above are provided for convenience and U.S. customs purposes only. 
The written description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Scope Comments
VI. Product Characteristics
VII. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference
VIII. All Others Rate
IX. Verification
X. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2019-21003 Filed 9-26-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P