[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26897-26902]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10440]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-357-823, A-351-857, A-533-903, A-823-820, A-552-833]


Raw Honey From Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations

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

DATES: Applicable May 11, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Martin at (202) 482-3936 
(Argentina); Justin Neuman at (202) 482-0486 (Brazil); Brittany Bauer 
at (202) 482-3860 (India); Jasun Moy at (202) 482-8194 (Ukraine); and 
Jonathan Hill at (202) 482-3518 (the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 
(Vietnam)); AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Petitions

    On April 21, 2021, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) received 
antidumping duty (AD) petitions concerning imports of raw honey from 
Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and Vietnam filed in proper form on 
behalf of the American Honey Producers Association (AHPA) and the Sioux 
Honey Association (SHA) (collectively, the petitioners), which are 
trade associations representing domestic producers of raw honey.\1\
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    \1\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, 
India, Ukraine and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam--Petition for 
the Imposition of Antidumping Duties,'' dated April 21, 2021 (the 
Petitions), Volume I at 2 and Exhibit GEN-1.
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    Between April 22 and May 4, 2021, Commerce requested supplemental 
information pertaining to certain aspects of the Petitions in separate 
supplemental questionnaires.\2\ The petitioners filed responses to the 
supplemental questionnaires between April 26 and May 6, 2021.\3\
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    \2\ See Commerce's Letters, ``Petitions for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, 
India, Ukraine and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Supplemental 
Questions,'' dated April 22, 2021 (General Issues Supplemental); 
Country-Specific Supplemental Questionnaires: Argentina 
Supplemental, Brazil Supplemental, India Supplemental, Ukraine 
Supplemental, and Vietnam Supplemental, dated April 26, 2021 and May 
4, 2021; and Memoranda, ``Petitions for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, 
India, Ukraine, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Phone Call 
with Counsel to the Petitioners,'' dated April 27, 2021 (April 27, 
2021 Scope Phone Call and April 27, 2021 Industry Support Phone 
Call, respectively), and May 4, 2021 (May 4, 2021 General Issues 
Phone Call and May 4, 2021 AD Phone Call, respectively).
    \3\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, 
India, Ukraine and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam--Petitioners' 
Response to the General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire of the 
U.S. Department of Commerce,'' dated April 26, 2021 (First General 
Issues Supplement); see also Petitioners' Country-Specific 
Supplemental Responses, dated April 29, 2021 and May 6, 2021; and 
Petitioners' Letter, ``Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, 
Ukraine and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam--Petitioners' Response 
to the Second General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire of the U.S. 
Department of Commerce,'' dated May 3, 2021 (Second General Issues 
Supplement); and Petitioners' Letter, ``Raw Honey from Argentina, 
Brazil, India, Ukraine and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam--
Petitioners' Response to the Third General Issues Supplemental 
Questionnaire of the U.S. Department of Commerce,'' dated May 6, 
2021 (Third General Issues Supplement).
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    In accordance with section 732(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), the petitioners allege that imports of raw honey 
from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and Vietnam are being, or are 
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) 
within the meaning of section 731 of the Act, and that imports of such 
products are materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, 
the raw honey industry in the United States. Consistent with section 
732(b)(1) of the Act, the Petitions are accompanied by information 
reasonably available to the petitioners supporting their allegations.
    Commerce finds that the petitioners filed the Petitions on behalf 
of the domestic industry, because the petitioners are interested 
parties, as defined in sections 771(9)(E) of the Act.
    Commerce also finds that the petitioners demonstrated sufficient 
industry support for the initiation of the requested AD 
investigations.\4\
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    \4\ See infra, section on ``Determination of Industry Support 
for the Petitions.''
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Periods of Investigation

    Because the Petitions were filed on April 21, 2021, pursuant to 19 
CFR 351.204(b)(1), the period of investigation (POI) for the Argentina, 
Brazil, India, and Ukraine AD investigations is April 1, 2020, through 
March 31, 2021. Because Vietnam is a non-market economy (NME) country, 
pursuant to 351.204(b)(1), the POI for the Vietnam investigation is 
October 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021.

Scope of the Investigations

    The product covered by these investigations is raw honey from 
Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and Vietnam. For a full description 
of the scope of these investigations, see the appendix to this notice.

Comments on the Scope of the Investigations

    On April 22, April 27, and May 4, 2021, Commerce requested 
information and clarification from the petitioners regarding the 
proposed scope to ensure that the scope language in the Petitions is an 
accurate reflection of the products for which the domestic industry is 
seeking relief.\5\ On April 23, April 26, and May 6, 2021, the 
petitioners responded to these requests and provided additional 
clarification and revisions to the scope.\6\ The description of 
merchandise covered by these investigations, as described in the 
appendix to this notice, reflects these clarifications.
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    \5\ See General Issues Supplemental at 3; see also April 27, 
2021 Scope Phone Call at 1; and May 4, 2021 General Issues Phone 
Call at 1-2.
    \6\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Scope Clarification to 
Antidumping Duty Petition on Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, 
India, Ukraine and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,'' dated April 
23, 2021 (Scope Clarification) at 3-4; First General Issues 
Supplement at 2-6; and Third General Issues Supplement at 2-4.
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    As discussed in the Preamble to Commerce's regulations, we are 
setting aside a period for interested parties to raise issues regarding 
product coverage (i.e., scope).\7\ Commerce will consider all comments 
received from interested parties and, if necessary, will consult with 
interested parties prior to the issuance of the preliminary 
determinations. If scope comments include factual information,\8\ all 
such factual information should be limited to public information. To 
facilitate preparation of its questionnaires, Commerce requests that 
all interested parties submit such comments by 5:00

[[Page 26898]]

p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on June 1, 2021, which is the next business day 
after 20 calendar days from the signature date of this notice.\9\ Any 
rebuttal comments, which may include factual information, must be filed 
by 5:00 p.m. ET on June 11, 2021, which is 10 calendar days from the 
initial comment deadline.
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    \7\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining ``factual 
information'').
    \9\ The 20-day deadline falls on May 31, 2021, which is a 
federal holiday. Therefore, in accordance with the Next Business Day 
Rule, the deadline moves to the next business day, June 1, 2021. See 
Notice of Clarification: Application of ``Next Business Day'' Rule 
for Administrative Determination Deadlines Pursuant to the Tariff 
Act of 1930, as Amended, 70 FR 24533 (May 10, 2008) (Next Business 
Day Rule).
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    Commerce requests that any factual information that parties 
consider relevant to the scope of the investigations be submitted 
during this period. However, if a party subsequently finds that 
additional factual information pertaining to the scope of the 
investigations may be relevant, the party may contact Commerce and 
request permission to submit the additional information. All such 
submissions must be filed on the records of the concurrent AD 
investigations.

Filing Requirements

    All submissions to Commerce must be filed electronically via 
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS), unless an exception 
applies.\10\ An electronically filed document must be received 
successfully in its entirety by the time and date it is due.
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    \10\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order 
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and 
Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System Name, 79 FR 69046 
(November 20, 2014) for details of Commerce's electronic filing 
requirements, effective August 5, 2011. Information on help using 
ACCESS can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx and a 
handbook can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook_on_Electronic_Filing_Procedures.pdf.
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Comments on Product Characteristics

    Commerce is providing interested parties an opportunity to comment 
on the appropriate physical characteristics of raw honey to be reported 
in response to Commerce's AD questionnaires. This information will be 
used to identify the key physical characteristics of the subject 
merchandise in order to report the relevant costs of production 
accurately, as well as to develop appropriate product-comparison 
criteria.
    Interested parties may provide any information or comments that 
they feel are relevant to the development of an accurate list of 
physical characteristics. Specifically, they may provide comments as to 
which characteristics are appropriate to use as: (1) General product 
characteristics; and (2) product comparison criteria. We note that it 
is not always appropriate to use all product characteristics as product 
comparison criteria. We base product comparison criteria on meaningful 
commercial differences among products. In other words, although there 
may be some physical product characteristics utilized by manufacturers 
to describe raw honey, it may be that only a select few product 
characteristics take into account commercially meaningful physical 
characteristics. In addition, interested parties may comment on the 
order in which the physical characteristics should be used in matching 
products. Generally, Commerce attempts to list the most important 
physical characteristics first and the least important characteristics 
last.
    In order to consider the suggestions of interested parties in 
developing and issuing the AD questionnaires, all product 
characteristics comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on June 1, 2021, 
which is the next business day after 20 calendar days from the 
signature date of this notice.\11\ Any rebuttal comments must be filed 
by 5:00 p.m. ET on June 11, 2021. All comments and submissions to 
Commerce must be filed electronically using ACCESS, as explained above, 
on the record of each of the AD investigations.
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    \11\ The 20-day deadline falls on May 31, 2021, which is a 
federal holiday. Therefore, in accordance with the Next Business Day 
Rule, the deadline moves to the next business day, June 1, 2021.
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Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions

    Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires that a petition be filed on 
behalf of the domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act 
provides that a petition meets this requirement if the domestic 
producers or workers who support the petition account for: (i) At least 
25 percent of the total production of the domestic like product; and 
(ii) more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like 
product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support 
for, or opposition to, the petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D) of 
the Act provides that, if the petition does not establish support of 
domestic producers or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product, Commerce shall: (i) 
Poll the industry or rely on other information in order to determine if 
there is support for the petition, as required by subparagraph (A); or 
(ii) determine industry support using a statistically valid sampling 
method to poll the ``industry.''
    Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines the ``industry'' as the 
producers as a whole of a domestic like product. Thus, to determine 
whether a petition has the requisite industry support, the statute 
directs Commerce to look to producers and workers who produce the 
domestic like product. The International Trade Commission (ITC), which 
is responsible for determining whether ``the domestic industry'' has 
been injured, must also determine what constitutes a domestic like 
product in order to define the industry. While both Commerce and the 
ITC must apply the same statutory definition regarding the domestic 
like product,\12\ they do so for different purposes and pursuant to a 
separate and distinct authority. In addition, Commerce's determination 
is subject to limitations of time and information. Although this may 
result in different definitions of the like product, such differences 
do not render the decision of either agency contrary to law.\13\
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    \12\ See section 771(10) of the Act.
    \13\ See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp. 2d 1, 8 (CIT 
2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. v. United States, 688 F. 
Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988), aff'd 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)).
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    Section 771(10) of the Act defines the domestic like product as ``a 
product which is like, or in the absence of like, most similar in 
characteristics and uses with, the article subject to an investigation 
under this title.'' Thus, the reference point from which the domestic 
like product analysis begins is ``the article subject to an 
investigation'' (i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to be 
investigated, which normally will be the scope as defined in the 
petition).
    With regard to the domestic like product, the petitioners do not 
offer a definition of the domestic like product distinct from the scope 
of the investigations.\14\ Based on our analysis of the information 
submitted on the record, we have determined that raw honey, as defined 
in the scope, constitutes a single domestic like product, and we have 
analyzed industry support in terms of that domestic like product.\15\
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    \14\ See Petitioners at Volume I at 15-19 and Exhibit GEN-7.
    \15\ For a discussion of the domestic like product analysis as 
applied to these cases and information regarding industry support, 
see Checklists, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation 
Checklists: Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and 
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,'' dated concurrently with this 
notice and on file electronically via ACCESS (Country-Specific AD 
Initiation Checklists) at Attachment II, Analysis of Industry 
Support for the Antidumping Duty Petitions Covering Raw Honey from 
Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam (Attachment II).

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[[Page 26899]]

    In determining whether the petitioners have standing under section 
732(c)(4)(A) of the Act, we considered the industry support data 
contained in the Petitions with reference to the domestic like product 
as defined in the ``Scope of the Investigations,'' in the appendix to 
this notice. To establish industry support, the petitioners provided 
their own 2020 production of the domestic like product.\16\ On April 
26, 2021, the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) submitted a letter 
stating its support for the Petitions and establishing the estimated 
2020 production for its members.\17\ The petitioners compared the 
estimated production by the supporters of the Petitions, adjusted to 
account for known overlap between membership of the petitioning 
associations and membership of the ABF, to the total 2020 U.S. 
production of raw honey reported in the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service's National Honey 
Report.\18\ We relied on data provided by the petitioners and ABF for 
purposes of measuring industry support.\19\
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    \16\ See Petitions at Volume I at 2-5 and Exhibits GEN-1 and 
GEN-2; see also General Issues Supplement at 6-7 and Attachment 5; 
Second General Issues Supplement at 3-4 and Attachment 1; and Third 
General Issues Supplement at Attachment 1.
    \17\ See ABF's Letter, ``Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, 
India, Ukraine, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam--Letter of 
Support on Behalf of American Beekeeping Federation,'' dated April 
26, 2021 (ABF Letter); see also Second General Issues Supplement at 
Attachment 1. The ABF is a trade association that represents over 
1,300 U.S. producers of raw honey. See ABF Letter at 1. The ABF 
updated its members' 2020 production in a declaration it provided to 
the petitioners. See Third General Issues Supplement at 4-6 and 
Attachment 1.
    \18\ See Petitions at Volume I at GEN-2; see also Second General 
Issues Supplement at 3-4 and Attachment 1; and Third General Issues 
Supplement at 4-6 and Attachment 1.
    \19\ See Petitions at Volume I at Exhibit GEN-2; see also 
General Issues Supplement at 6-7 and Attachment 5; ABF Letter; and 
Second General Issues Supplement at 3-4 and Attachment 1; and Third 
General Issues Supplement at 4-6 and Attachment 1.
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    Our review of the data provided in the Petitions, the First General 
Issues Supplement, the ABF Letter, the Second General Issues 
Supplement, the Third General Issues Supplement, and other information 
readily available to Commerce indicates that the petitioners have 
established industry support for the Petitions.\20\ First, the 
Petitions established support from domestic producers (or workers) 
accounting for more than 50 percent of the total production of the 
domestic like product and, as such, Commerce is not required to take 
further action in order to evaluate industry support (e.g., 
polling).\21\ Second, the domestic producers (or workers) have met the 
statutory criteria for industry support under section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) 
of the Act because the domestic producers (or workers) who support the 
Petitions account for at least 25 percent of the total production of 
the domestic like product.\22\ Finally, the domestic producers (or 
workers) have met the statutory criteria for industry support under 
section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act because the domestic producers (or 
workers) who support the Petitions account for more than 50 percent of 
the production of the domestic like product produced by that portion of 
the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the 
Petitions.\23\ Accordingly, Commerce determines that the Petitions were 
filed on behalf of the domestic industry within the meaning of section 
732(b)(1) of the Act.\24\
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    \20\ See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists at Attachment 
II.
    \21\ Id.; see also section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act.
    \22\ See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists at Attachment 
II.
    \23\ Id.
    \24\ Id.
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Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and Causation

    The petitioners allege that the U.S. industry producing the 
domestic like product is being materially injured, or is threatened 
with material injury, by reason of the imports of the subject 
merchandise sold at LTFV. In addition, the petitioners allege that 
subject imports exceed the negligibility threshold provided for under 
section 771(24)(A) of the Act.\25\
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    \25\ See Petitions at Volume I at 20-21 and Exhibit GEN-8.
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    The petitioners contend that the industry's injured condition is 
illustrated by significant and increasing volume and market share of 
subject imports; lost sales and revenues; underselling and price 
depression and/or suppression; decrease in production and increase in 
honey stocks; and decline in financial performance.\26\ We assessed the 
allegations and supporting evidence regarding material injury, threat 
of material injury, causation, as well as negligibility, and we have 
determined that these allegations are properly supported by adequate 
evidence, and meet the statutory requirements for initiation.\27\
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    \26\ Id. at 20-34 and Exhibits GEN-2, GEN-5, GEN-7 and GEN-9 
through GEN-12.
    \27\ See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists at Attachment 
III, Analysis of Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and 
Causation for the Antidumping Duty Petitions Covering Raw Honey from 
Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam (Attachment III).
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Allegations of Sales at LTFV

    The following is a description of the allegations of sales at LTFV 
upon which Commerce based its decision to initiate AD investigations of 
imports of raw honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and 
Vietnam. The sources of data for the deductions and adjustments 
relating to U.S. price and normal value (NV) are discussed in greater 
detail in the Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists.

U.S. Price

    For Brazil, India, Ukraine, and Vietnam, the petitioners based 
export price (EP) on the average unit values (AUVs) of publicly 
available import data for raw honey produced in and exported from each 
country during the POI. For Argentina, the petitioners submitted 
information indicating that Argentina experienced high inflation during 
the proposed POI.\28\ Due to this alleged high inflation, the 
petitioners based EP on AUVs of publicly available import data for raw 
honey produced in and exported from Argentina for only certain months 
of the POI corresponding to the months for which a home market price 
was available. Additionally, the petitioners made certain adjustments 
to these U.S. prices to calculate a net ex-factory U.S. price.\29\
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    \28\ See Second Argentina AD Supplement at Exhibit AD-AR-SUPP2-1 
(citing, e.g., Circular Welded Carbon Steel Standard Pipe and Tube 
Products from Turkey: Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review and Final Determination of No Shipments; 2018-
2019, 86 FR 15190 (March 22, 2021), and accompanying Issues and 
decision Memorandum at 10 (Comment 1)).
    \29\ See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists.
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Normal Value \30\
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    \30\ In accordance with section 773(b)(2) of the Act, for the 
Argentina, Brazil, India, and Ukraine investigations, Commerce will 
request information necessary to calculate the constructed value and 
cost of production (COP) to determine whether there are reasonable 
grounds to believe or suspect that sales of the foreign like product 
have been made at prices that represent less than the COP of the 
product.
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    For Argentina, Brazil, India, and Ukraine, the petitioners based NV 
on home market price quotes obtained through market research for raw 
honey produced in and sold, or offered for sale, in each country within 
the applicable time period.\31\
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    \31\ See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists.
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    Commerce considers Vietnam to be an NME country.\32\ In accordance 
with

[[Page 26900]]

section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, any determination that a foreign 
country is an NME country shall remain in effect until revoked by 
Commerce. Therefore, we continue to treat Vietnam as an NME country for 
purposes of the initiation of this investigation. Accordingly, NV in 
Vietnam is appropriately based on factors of production (FOPs) valued 
in a surrogate market economy country, in accordance with section 
773(c) of the Act.
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    \32\ See Certain Frozen Fish Fillets from the Socialist Republic 
of Vietnam: Final Results, and Final Results of No Shipments of the 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2016-2017, 84 FR 18007 
(April 29, 2019).
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    The petitioners claim that India is an appropriate surrogate 
country for Vietnam because India is a market economy country that is 
at a level of economic development comparable to that of Vietnam and is 
a significant producer of identical merchandise. The petitioners 
provided publicly available information from India to value all FOPs. 
Based on the information provided by the petitioners, we determine that 
it is appropriate to use India as a surrogate country for initiation 
purposes.
    Interested parties will have the opportunity to submit comments 
regarding surrogate country selection and, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an opportunity to submit publicly 
available information to value FOPs within 30 days before the scheduled 
date of the preliminary determination.

Factors of Production

    Because information regarding the volume of inputs consumed by 
Vietnamese producers/exporters was not reasonably available, the 
petitioners used their own product-specific consumption rates as a 
surrogate to value Vietnamese manufacturers' FOPs.\33\ Additionally, 
the petitioners calculated factory overhead; selling, general and 
administrative expenses; and profit based on the experience of two 
Indian producers of identical merchandise.\34\
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    \33\ See Petitions at Volume VI at 6-8 and Exhibit AD-VN-2.
    \34\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Raw Honey from Vietnam--
Petitioners' Supplement to Volume VI Relating to a Request for the 
Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports from Vietnam,'' dated 
April 29, 2021 at 10 and Exhibit AD-Supp-VN-1, Attachment 6.
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Fair Value Comparisons

    Based on the data provided by the petitioners, there is reason to 
believe that imports of raw honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, 
Ukraine, and Vietnam are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United 
States at LTFV. Based on comparisons of EP, as applicable, to NV in 
accordance with sections 772 and 773 of the Act, the estimated dumping 
margins for raw honey for each of the countries covered by this 
initiation are as follows: (1) Argentina: 9.75-49.44 percent; (2) 
Brazil: 83.72 percent; (3) India: 27.02-88.48 percent; (4) Ukraine: 
9.49-92.94 percent; and (5) Vietnam: 47.56-138.23 percent.\35\
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    \35\ See Country-Specific Initiation Checklists for details of 
calculations.
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Initiation of LTFV Investigations

    Based upon the examination of the Petitions and supplemental 
responses, we find that they meet the requirements of section 732 of 
the Act. Therefore, we are initiating AD investigations to determine 
whether imports of raw honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, 
and Vietnam are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States 
at LTFV. In accordance with section 733(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.205(b)(1), unless postponed, we will make our preliminary 
determinations no later than 140 days after the date of this 
initiation.

Respondent Selection

Argentina, Brazil, India, and Ukraine

    In the Petitions, the petitioners named 18 companies in Argentina, 
18 companies in Brazil, 19 companies in India, and 9 companies in 
Ukraine as producers/exporters of raw honey.\36\ Following standard 
practice in AD investigations involving market economy countries, in 
the event Commerce determines that the number of exporters or producers 
in any individual case is large such that Commerce cannot individually 
examine each company based upon its resources, where appropriate, 
Commerce intends to select mandatory respondents in that case based on 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data for U.S. imports under 
the appropriate Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States numbers 
listed in the ``Scope of the Investigations,'' in the appendix.
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    \36\ See Petitions at Volume I at Exhibit GEN-4.
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    On May 5, 2021, Commerce released CBP data on imports of raw honey 
from Argentina, Brazil, India, and Ukraine under Administrative 
Protective Order (APO) to all parties with access to information 
protected by APO and indicated that interested parties wishing to 
comment on the CBP data must do so within three business days of the 
publication date of the notice of initiation of these 
investigations.\37\ Comments must be filed electronically using ACCESS. 
An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its 
entirety via ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. ET on the specified deadline. Commerce 
will not accept rebuttal comments regarding the CBP data or respondent 
selection.
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    \37\ See Country-Specific Memoranda, ``Antidumping Duty 
Investigation of Raw Honey: Release of Customs Data from U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection,'' dated May 5, 2021.
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    Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(b). Instructions for filing such 
applications may be found on Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/apo.

Vietnam

    In the Petition, the petitioners named 12 companies as producers/
exporters of raw honey in Vietnam.\38\ In accordance with our standard 
practice for respondent selection in AD investigations involving NME 
countries, Commerce selects respondents based on quantity and value 
(Q&V) questionnaires in cases where it has determined that the number 
of companies is large and it cannot individually examine each company 
based upon its resources. Therefore, considering the number of 
Vietnamese producers and exporters identified in the Petitions, 
Commerce will solicit Q&V information that can serve as a basis for 
selecting exporters for individual examination in the event that 
Commerce decides to limit the number of respondents individually 
examined pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. Given that there 
are 12 producers and exporters identified in the Petition, Commerce has 
determined that it will issue Q&V questionnaires to each potential 
respondent for which the petitioners have provided a complete address.
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    \38\ See Petitions at Volume I at Exhibit GEN-4.
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    In addition, Commerce will post the Q&V questionnaire along with 
filing instructions on Enforcement and Compliance's website at https://www.trade.gov/ec-adcvd-case-announcements. Producers/exporters of raw 
honey from Vietnam that do not receive Q&V questionnaires may still 
submit a response to the Q&V questionnaire and can obtain a copy of the 
Q&V questionnaire from Enforcement and Compliance's website. In 
accordance with the standard practice for respondent selection in AD 
cases involving NME countries, in the event Commerce decides to limit 
the number of respondents individually investigated, Commerce intends 
to base respondent selection on the responses to the Q&V questionnaire 
that it receives.
    Responses to the Q&V questionnaire must be submitted by the 
relevant Vietnamese producers/exporters no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on 
May 27, 2021. All

[[Page 26901]]

Q&V questionnaire responses must be filed electronically via ACCESS. An 
electronically filed document must be received successfully, in its 
entirety, by ACCESS no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on the deadline noted 
above. Commerce intends to finalize its decisions regarding respondent 
selection within 20 days of publication of this notice.

Separate Rates

    In order to obtain separate-rate status in an NME investigation, 
exporters and producers must submit a separate-rate application.\39\ 
The specific requirements for submitting a separate-rate application in 
an Vietnam investigation are outlined in detail in the application 
itself, which is available on Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/nme/nme-sep-rate.html. The separate-rate 
application will be due 30 days after publication of this initiation 
notice.\40\ Exporters and producers who submit a separate-rate 
application and have been selected as mandatory respondents will be 
eligible for consideration for separate-rate status only if they 
respond to all parts of Commerce's AD questionnaire as mandatory 
respondents. Commerce requires that companies from Vietnam submit a 
response both to the Q&V questionnaire and to the separate-rate 
application by the respective deadlines in order to receive 
consideration for separate-rate status. Companies not filing a timely 
Q&V questionnaire response will not receive separate rate 
consideration.
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    \39\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates Practice and 
Application of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigation 
involving NME Countries (April 5, 2005), available at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf (Policy Bulletin 05.1).
    \40\ Although in past investigations this deadline was 60 days, 
consistent with 19 CFR 351.301(a), which states that ``the Secretary 
may request any person to submit factual information at any time 
during a proceeding,'' this deadline is now 30 days.
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Use of Combination Rates

    Commerce will calculate combination rates for certain respondents 
that are eligible for a separate rate in an NME investigation. The 
Separate Rates and Combination Rates Bulletin states:

{w{time} hile continuing the practice of assigning separate rates 
only to exporters, all separate rates that the Department will now 
assign in its NME Investigation will be specific to those producers 
that supplied the exporter during the period of investigation. Note, 
however, that one rate is calculated for the exporter and all of the 
producers which supplied subject merchandise to it during the period 
of investigation. This practice applies both to mandatory 
respondents receiving an individually calculated separate rate as 
well as the pool of non-investigated firms receiving the weighted-
average of the individually calculated rates. This practice is 
referred to as the application of ``combination rates'' because such 
rates apply to specific combinations of exporters and one or more 
producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned to an exporter will apply 
only to merchandise both exported by the firm in question and 
produced by a firm that supplied the exporter during the period of 
investigation.\41\
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    \41\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1 at 6 (emphasis added).
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Distribution of Copies of the AD Petitions

    In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.202(f), copies of the public versions of the AD Petitions have been 
provided to the governments of Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and 
Vietnam via ACCESS. To the extent practicable, we will attempt to 
provide a copy of the public version of the AD Petitions to each 
exporter named in the AD Petitions, as provided under 19 CFR 
351.203(c)(2).

ITC Notification

    Commerce will notify the ITC of our initiation, as required by 
section 732(d) of the Act.

Preliminary Determinations by the ITC

    The ITC will preliminarily determine, within 45 days after the date 
on which the AD Petitions were filed, whether there is a reasonable 
indication that imports of raw honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, 
Ukraine, and/or Vietnam are materially injuring, or threatening 
material injury to, a U.S. industry.\42\ A negative ITC determination 
for any country will result in the investigation being terminated with 
respect to that country.\43\ Otherwise, these AD investigations will 
proceed according to statutory and regulatory time limits.
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    \42\ See section 733(a) of the Act.
    \43\ Id.
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Submission of Factual Information

    Factual information is defined in 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i) 
Evidence submitted in response to questionnaires; (ii) evidence 
submitted in support of allegations; (iii) publicly available 
information to value factors under 19 CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the 
adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR 351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence 
placed on the record by Commerce; and (v) evidence other than factual 
information described in (i)-(iv). Section 351.301(b) of Commerce's 
regulations requires any party, when submitting factual information, to 
specify under which subsection of 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) the information 
is being submitted \44\ and, if the information is submitted to rebut, 
clarify, or correct factual information already on the record, to 
provide an explanation identifying the information already on the 
record that the factual information seeks to rebut, clarify, or 
correct.\45\ Time limits for the submission of factual information are 
addressed in 19 CFR 351.301, which provides specific time limits based 
on the type of factual information being submitted. Interested parties 
should review the regulations prior to submitting factual information 
in these investigations.
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    \44\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b).
    \45\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b)(2).
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Particular Market Situation Allegation

    Section 773(e) of the Act addresses the concept of particular 
market situation (PMS) for purposes of CV, stating that ``if a 
particular market situation exists such that the cost of materials and 
fabrication or other processing of any kind does not accurately reflect 
the COP in the ordinary course of trade, the administering authority 
may use another calculation methodology under this subtitle or any 
other calculation methodology.'' When an interested party submits a PMS 
allegation pursuant to section 773(e) of the Act, Commerce will respond 
to such a submission consistent with 19 CFR 351.301(c)(2)(v). If 
Commerce finds that a PMS exists under section 773(e) of the Act, then 
it will modify its dumping calculations appropriately.
    Neither section 773(e) of the Act, nor 19 CFR 351.301(c)(2)(v), set 
a deadline for the submission of PMS allegations and supporting factual 
information. However, in order to administer section 773(e) of the Act, 
Commerce must receive PMS allegations and supporting factual 
information with enough time to consider the submission. Thus, should 
an interested party wish to submit a PMS allegation and supporting new 
factual information pursuant to section 773(e) of the Act, it must do 
so no later than 20 days after submission of a respondent's initial 
section D questionnaire response.

Extensions of Time Limits

    Parties may request an extension of time limits before the 
expiration of a time limit established under 19 CFR 351.301, or as 
otherwise specified by Commerce. In general, an extension request will 
be considered untimely if it is filed after the expiration of the time 
limit established under 19 CFR 351.301. For submissions that are due 
from multiple parties simultaneously, an extension request will be 
considered untimely if it is filed after 10:00 a.m. ET

[[Page 26902]]

on the due date. Under certain circumstances, we may elect to specify a 
different time limit by which extension requests will be considered 
untimely for submissions which are due from multiple parties 
simultaneously. In such a case, we will inform parties in a letter or 
memorandum of the deadline (including a specified time) by which 
extension requests must be filed to be considered timely. An extension 
request must be made in a separate, stand-alone submission; under 
limited circumstances we will grant untimely-filed requests for the 
extension of time limits. Parties should review Commerce's regulations 
pertaining to the extension of time limits prior to submitting factual 
information in these investigations.\46\
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    \46\ See Extension of Time Limits; Final Rule, 78 FR 57790 
(September 20, 2013), available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/2013-22853.htm.
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Certification Requirements

    Any party submitting factual information in an AD or countervailing 
duty proceeding must certify to the accuracy and completeness of that 
information.\47\ Parties must use the certification formats provided in 
19 CFR 351.303(g).\48\ Commerce intends to reject factual submissions 
if the submitting party does not comply with the applicable 
certification requirements.
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    \47\ See section 782(b) of the Act.
    \48\ See Certification of Factual Information to Import 
Administration During Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 17, 2013) (Final Rule). Answers to 
frequently asked questions regarding the Final Rule are available at 
http://enforcement.trade.gov/tlei/notices/factual_info_final_rule_FAQ_07172013.pdf.
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Notification to Interested Parties

    Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. Parties wishing to participate 
in these investigations should ensure that they meet the requirements 
of 19 CFR 351.103(d) (e.g., by filing the required letter of 
appearance). Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its 
requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary 
information, until further notice.\49\
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    \49\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 
10, 2020).
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    This notice is issued and published pursuant to sections 732(c)(2) 
and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c).

    Dated: May 11, 2021.
Christian Marsh,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Investigations

    The merchandise covered by these investigations is raw honey. 
Raw honey is honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by 
extraction, settling and skimming, or coarse straining. Raw honey 
has not been filtered to a level that results in the removal of most 
or all of the pollen, e.g., a level that removes pollen to below 25 
microns. The subject products include all grades, floral sources and 
colors of raw honey and also include organic raw honey.
    Excluded from the scope is any honey that is packaged for retail 
sale (e.g., in bottles or other retail containers of five (5) lbs. 
or less).
    The merchandise subject to these investigations is currently 
classifiable under statistical subheading 0409.00.0005, 
0409.00.0035, 0409.00.0045, 0409.00.0056, and 0409.00.0065 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although 
the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the scope of these 
investigations is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2021-10440 Filed 5-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P