[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 11, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67718-67719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26801]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-201-846]


Sugar From Mexico: Notice of Termination of Amendment to the 
Agreement Suspending the Countervailing 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. 17-00214, Slip Op. 19-131 (CIT October 18, 2019) (CSC Sugar 
II), vacating the 2017 amendment to the Agreement Suspending the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation on Sugar from Mexico. Commerce is now 
terminating the amendment consistent with the Court's order.

DATES: Applicable December 7, 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 Government of Mexico (GOM) 
signed the Agreement Suspending the Countervailing Duty Investigation 
on Sugar from Mexico (CVD Agreement).\1\ Subsequent to this date, 
between June 2016 and June 2017, Commerce and the GOM held 
consultations to address concerns raised by the domestic industry and 
to ensure that the CVD Agreement met all of 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 GOM signing 
the amendment to the CVD Agreement on June 30, 2017, and it was 
subsequently published in the Federal Register.\2\
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    \1\ See Sugar From Mexico: Suspension of Countervailing Duty 
Investigation, 79 FR 78044 (December 29, 2014) (CVD Agreement).
    \2\ See Sugar From Mexico: Amendment to the Agreement Suspending 
the Countervailing Duty Investigation, 82 FR 31942 (July 11, 2017) 
(CVD Amendment).
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    CSC Sugar LLC (CSC Sugar) challenged Commerce's determination to 
amend the CVD 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 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 CVD 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\

[[Page 67719]]

The CIT found that this recordkeeping failure substantially prejudiced 
CSC Sugar.\8\ On that basis, the CIT stated that the CVD Amendment must 
be vacated.\9\
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    \7\ Id. at 11-12.
    \8\ Id. at 12.
    \9\ Id.
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Termination of CVD Amendment

    Consistent with the CIT's ruling in CSC Sugar II, Commerce is 
terminating the CVD Amendment prospectively.\10\ Accordingly, as of 
December 7, 2019, the unamended CVD Agreement \11\ is in force and 
effective, and the CVD Amendment has no force or effect.
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    \10\ Commerce is terminating the CVD Amendment, effective 
December 7, 2019. Because suspension of liquidation does not occur 
while the CVD Agreement is in force, termination of the CVD 
Amendment shall be prospective in effect. Accordingly, the CVD 
Agreement, as signed on December 19, 2014, applies to all contracts 
for sugar from Mexico exported from Mexico on or after December 7, 
2019.
    \11\ See CVD Agreement.

    Dated: December 6, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2019-26801 Filed 12-10-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P