[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 210 (Wednesday, October 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58129-58130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23769]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-845]


Sugar From Mexico: Notice of Court Decision Regarding Amendment 
to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation

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

SUMMARY: On October 18, 2019, the United States Court of International 
Trade (CIT) issued a final judgment in CSC Sugar LLC v. United States, 
Ct. No. 17-00215, Slip Op. 19-132 (CIT October 18, 2019) (CSC Sugar 
II). Commerce is notifying the public of the CIT's ruling that 
Commerce's 2017 amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping 
Duty Investigation on Sugar from Mexico (AD Agreement) must be vacated. 
Commerce intends to take action to implement the CIT ruling by November 
18, 2019.

DATES: October 30, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon, Bilateral Agreements 
Unit, Office of Policy and Negotiations, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
0162.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On December 19, 2014, Commerce and the signatory producers/
exporters accounting for substantially all imports of sugar from Mexico 
signed the AD Agreement.\1\ Between June 2016 and June 2017, Commerce 
and the signatory producers/exporters accounting for substantially all 
imports of sugar from Mexico held consultations to address concerns 
raised by the domestic industry and to ensure that the AD Agreement met 
the statutory requirements for a suspension agreement, e.g., that 
suspension of the investigation was in the public interest, including 
the availability of supplies of sugar in the U.S. market, and that 
effective monitoring was practicable. The consultations resulted in 
Commerce and the signatory producers/exporters accounting for 
substantially all imports of sugar from Mexico signing an amendment to 
the AD Agreement on June 30, 2017, which was subsequently published in 
the Federal Register.\2\
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    \1\ See Sugar From Mexico: Suspension of Antidumping Duty 
Investigation, 79 FR 78039 (December 29, 2014).
    \2\ See Sugar From Mexico: Amendment to the Agreement Suspending 
the Antidumping Duty Investigation, 82 FR 31945 (July 11, 2017) (AD 
Amendment).
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    CSC Sugar LLC (CSC Sugar) challenged Commerce's determination to 
amend the AD Agreement by contending that Commerce did not meet its 
obligation to file a complete administrative record.\3\ Specifically, 
CSC Sugar argued that Commerce failed to memorialize and include in the 
record ex parte communications

[[Page 58130]]

between Commerce officials and interested parties (including the 
domestic sugar industry and representatives of Mexico) as required by 
section 777(a)(3) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).\4\
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    \3\ See CSC Sugar II at 4.
    \4\ Id.
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    The CIT agreed with CSC Sugar and ordered Commerce to supplement 
the administrative record with any ex parte communications regarding 
the AD Amendment.\5\ CSC Sugar subsequently filed a motion for judgment 
on the agency record arguing that Commerce's failure, during the 
consultations period, to maintain contemporaneous ex parte 
communication memoranda, in accordance with section 777(a)(3) of the 
Act, could not be adequately remedied by Commerce's delayed and 
incomplete supplementation of the record.\6\
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    \5\ Id. (citing CSC Sugar LLC v. United States, 317 F. Supp. 3d 
1322, 1326 (CIT 2018)).
    \6\ See CSC Sugar II at 4.
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    The CIT found that Commerce's failure to follow the recordkeeping 
requirements of Section 777 of the Act cannot be described as 
``harmless.'' \7\ The CIT found that this recordkeeping failure 
substantially prejudiced CSC Sugar.\8\ On that basis, the CIT stated 
that the AD Amendment must be vacated.\9\
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    \7\ Id. at 11-12.
    \8\Id. at 12.
    \9\Id.
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    The AD Amendment remains in force until Commerce takes action to 
implement the CIT's ruling. The CIT's rules establish an automatic 30-
day stay of proceedings to enforce a judgment.\10\ Accordingly, 
Commerce intends to implement the CIT's ruling by November 18, 
2019.\11\
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    \10\ See CIT Rule 62(a) (``Except as stated in this rule or as 
otherwise ordered by the court, no execution may issue on a 
judgment, nor may proceedings be taken to enforce it, until 30 days 
have passed after its entry.'').
    \11\ See CIT Rule 6(a)(1). In this case, the 30th day after 
October 18 is Sunday, November 17.

    Dated: October 25, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
 [FR Doc. 2019-23769 Filed 10-29-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P