[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6906-6907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02363]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-201-846]


Suspension Agreement on Sugar From Mexico; 2018 Administrative 
Review of the Agreement Suspending the Countervailing Duty 
Investigation on Sugar From Mexico (as Amended)

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that the Government of Mexico (GOM) and selected respondents, Ingenio 
Adolfo Lopez Mateos S.A. de C.V. and its affiliates (Grupo PIASA) and 
Ingenio P[aacute]nuco S.A.P.I. de C.V. (P[aacute]nuco), are 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), for the period January 
1, 2018 through December 31, 2018, when such amended CVD Agreement was 
in effect. Further, Commerce preliminarily determines that the amended 
CVD Agreement in effect during the period of review (POR) was meeting 
its statutory requirements under sections 704(c) and (d) of the Tariff 
Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The preliminary results are set 
forth in the section titled ``Methodology and Preliminary Results,'' 
infra. We intend to issue the final results of review within 120 days 
after publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register.

DATES: Applicable January 31, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon or David Cordell, 
Bilateral Agreements Unit, Enforcement & 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 December 19, 2014, Commerce signed an agreement under section 
704(c) of the Act, with the GOM, suspending the countervailing duty 
(CVD) investigation on sugar from Mexico.\1\ On June 30, 2017, Commerce 
and the GOM signed an amendment to the CVD Agreement.\2\ Consistent 
with a ruling from the U.S. Court of International Trade, Commerce 
published in the Federal Register a notice of the termination of the 
2017 CVD Amendment, with an applicable date of December 7, 2019.\3\
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    \1\ See Agreement Suspending the Countervailing Duty 
Investigation of Sugar from Mexico, 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).
    \3\ 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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    On December 26, 2018, the American Sugar Coalition and its Members 
\4\ (petitioners) filed a timely request for an administrative review 
of the amended CVD Agreement.\5\ On January 28, 2019, Commerce 
exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines affected by the partial 
federal government closure from December 22, 2018 through the 
resumption of operations on January 29, 2019.\6\ On February 12, 2019, 
the petitioners resubmitted their request for an administrative review 
of the amended CVD Agreement as a precaution because the initial 
request was made during the partial federal government closure.\7\
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    \4\ The members of the American Sugar Coalition 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.
    \5\ See Letter to Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary of Commerce, 
from the American Sugar Coalition and its members, ``Sugar from 
Mexico: Request for Administrative Review'' (December 26, 2018).
    \6\ See Memorandum to the Record, ``Deadlines Affected by the 
Partial Shutdown of the Federal Government'' (January 28, 2019). All 
deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 40 
days.
    \7\ See Letter to Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary of Commerce, 
form the American Sugar Coalition and its members, ``Sugar from 
Mexico: Resubmission of Request for Administrative Review'' 
(February 12, 2019).
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    Commerce initiated the review of the amended CVD Agreement on March 
14, 2019, for the January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 POR.\8\ On 
May 6, 2019, Commerce selected mandatory respondents and issued its 
questionnaire to the GOM and two selected respondent companies: Grupo 
PIASA and P[aacute]nuco.\9\ These two companies represented the largest 
producers/exporters of subject merchandise imported into the United 
States during the POR.
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    \8\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 9297 (March 14, 2019). The original 
initiation notice had incorrectly stated that the POR ended on 
December 30, 2017, and this was corrected in the initiation notice 
published on March 16, 2018.
    \9\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Administrative Review of the 
Agreement Suspending the Countervailing Duty Investigation on Sugar 
from Mexico, as Amended: Placement of CBP Data on the Record for 
Respondent Selection'' (March 18, 2019).
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Scope of Review

    Merchandise covered by this amended CVD Agreement was typically 
imported under the following headings of the HTSUS during the POR: 
1701.12.1000, 1701.12.5000, 1701.13.1000, 1701.13.5000, 1701.14.1000, 
1701.14.5000, 1701.91.1000, 1701.91.3000, 1701.99.1010, 1701.99.1025, 
1701.99.1050, 1701.99.5010, 1701.99.5025, 1701.99.5050, and 
1702.90.4000. The tariff classification is provided for convenience and 
customs purposes; however, the written description of the scope of this 
amended CVD Agreement is dispositive.\10\
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    \10\ For a complete description of the Scope of the Order, see 
Memorandum to Jeffrey I. Kessler, Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, ``Decision Memorandum for Preliminary 
Results of Administrative Review of the Agreement Suspending the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation on Sugar from Mexico,'' dated 
concurrently with this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology and Preliminary Results

    Commerce has conducted this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(C) of the Act, which specifies that Commerce shall ``review 
the current status of, and compliance with, any agreement by reason of 
which an investigation was suspended.'' In this case, Commerce, and the 
GOM signed the CVD Agreement on December 19, 2014. Pursuant to the CVD 
Agreement, the GOM agreed that the subject

[[Page 6907]]

merchandise would be subject to export limits, as outlined in the CVD 
Agreement.\11\ The GOM also agreed to other conditions including limits 
on Refined Sugar \12\ and the issuance of shipment-specific (later 
amended to contract-specific) export licenses.\13\ The amendment to the 
CVD Agreement also made certain changes with respect to GOM's licensing 
system and the polarity of the sugar to be exported.\14\
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    \11\ See CVD Agreement, 79 FR at 78047, at Export Limits. See 
also CVD Amendment, 82 FR at 31942, 31944.
    \12\ See CVD Agreement, 79 FR at 78046-47, at Definitions and 
Export Limits. See also CVD Amendment, 82 FR at 31942, 31944.
    \13\ See CVD Agreement, 79 FR at 78047-48, at Export Limits and 
Implementation. See also CVD Amendment, 82 FR at 31944.
    \14\ See CVD Amendment, 82 FR at 31943-44.
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    After reviewing the information received to date from the 
respondent companies and the GOM in their questionnaire and 
supplemental questionnaire responses, we preliminarily find that the 
GOM adhered to the terms of the amended CVD Agreement in effect during 
the POR and that the amended CVD Agreement was functioning as intended. 
Further, we preliminarily determine that the amended CVD Agreement in 
effect during the POR was meeting its statutory requirements under 
sections 704(c) and (d) of the Act. For a full description of the 
methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum. Issues involving business proprietary information are 
addressed in a separate memorandum.\15\
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    \15\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Memorandum Regarding Certain 
Allocations of the Export Limit'' (January 31, 2020).
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Public Comment

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested parties may submit 
case briefs not later than 30 days after the date of publication of 
this notice. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for filing 
case briefs in accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1). Parties who submit 
case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding are encouraged to 
provide: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the 
argument; and (3) a table of authorities. See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and 
(d)(2).
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, or to participate if one is requested, must submit a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance filed electronically via ACCESS. An electronically filed 
document must be received successfully in its entirety by Commerce's 
electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time 
within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Requests 
should contain: (1) The party's name, address and telephone number; (2) 
the number of participants; and (3) a list of issues to be discussed. 
Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the 
respective case briefs. Commerce intends to issue the final results of 
this administrative review, including the results of its analysis of 
the issues raised in any written briefs, not later than 120 days after 
the date of publication of this notice, pursuant to section 
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.
    We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: January 31, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2020-02363 Filed 2-5-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P