[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 188 (Friday, October 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54424-54425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21338]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-820]


Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh 
Tomatoes From Mexico; Preliminary Results of 2019-2020 Administrative 
Review

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that the respondents selected for individual examination, Bioparques De 
Occidente, S.A. de C.V. and its affiliates (Bioparques), Del Campo Y 
Asociados SA de CV and its affiliates (Del Campo), and Productora 
Agricola Industrial del Noroeste, SA de CV (Productora Agricola) and 
its affiliates (collectively Grupo Pinos), are in compliance with the 
Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh 
Tomatoes from Mexico (2019 Agreement), for the period September 19, 
2019, through August 31, 2020, and that the 2019 Agreement is meeting 
the statutory requirements under the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act).

DATES: Applicable October 1, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon or David Cordell, 
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 September 19, 2019, Commerce signed an agreement \1\ under 
section 734(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), with 
representatives of Mexican fresh tomato producers/exporters \2\ 
accounting for substantially all imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico, 
suspending the antidumping duty (AD) investigation on fresh tomatoes 
from Mexico.\3\
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    \1\ See Fresh Tomatoes From Mexico: Suspension of Antidumping 
Duty Investigation, 84 FR 49987 (September 24, 2019) (2019 
Agreement).
    \2\ The Mexican signatories are predominately represented by the 
following associations: Asociacion Mexicana de Horticultura 
Protegida, A.C., Asociacion de Productores de Hortalizas del Yaqui y 
Mayo, Confederacion de Asociaciones Agricolas del Estado de Sinaloa, 
A.C., Consejo Agricola de Baja California, A.C., and Sistema 
Producto Tomate.
    \3\ Id.
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    On September 25, 2020, the Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE),\4\ a 
member of the U.S. petitioning industry, filed a request for an 
administrative review of the 2019 Agreement.\5\ On September 30, 2020, 
Bioparques and Negocio Agricola San Enrique S.A. de C.V. (NASE) also 
requested reviews.\6\
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    \4\ The members of the FTE are as follows: Ag-Mart Produce, Inc. 
dba Santa Sweets, Inc., Classie Produce, DiMare Homestead, Inc., 
DiMare Ruskin, Inc., Gargiulo, Inc., Kern Carpenter Farms, Lipman 
Family Farms, Mecca Family Farms, Inc., Michael Borek Farms, Pacific 
Tomato Growers, Ltd., Taylor & Fulton Packing, LLC, Tomatoes of 
Ruskin, Inc., TomPak, LLC, and West Coast Tomato, LLC.
    \5\ See Letter from FTE, ``Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico: Request 
for Administrative Review,'' dated September 25, 2020.
    \6\ See Letter from Bioparques and Letter from NASE, both 
entitled ``Suspension Agreement on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico--
Request for Administrative Review,'' each dated September 30, 2020. 
Bioparques and NASE explained they had requested reviews primarily 
to review each of the company's own sales, and ``the amount of any . 
. . dumping margin involved in the {suspension{time}  agreement.'' 
Pursuant to section 751(a)(1)(c) of the Act, Commerce reviews ``the 
current status of, and compliance with, any agreement by reason of 
which an investigation was suspended, and review the amount of any . 
. . dumping margin involved in the agreement, in administrative 
reviews. . . .'' Because there is no dumping margin involved in the 
2019 Agreement, in conducting this administrative review, we are not 
calculating new margins for the companies under review, as we would 
in an administrative review of an order. Rather, in addition to 
examining compliance with the terms of the agreement, generally, we 
are examining whether for the sales during the period of review the 
respondents complied with the price undertakings specified in 
section VI of the 2019 Agreement, i.e., not making sales below the 
Reference Prices established in Appendix A and eliminating the 
required percentage of dumping from the original investigation, 
i.e., 85 percent.
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    The review of the 2019 Agreement was initiated on October 30, 
2020.\7\ Commerce inadvertently identified the period of review (POR) 
as September 1, 2019, through August 31, 2020, but corrected the POR on 
January 7, 2021, to reflect the period from September 19, 2019 to 
August 31, 2020.\8\ On January 7, 2021, Commerce selected mandatory 
respondents and issued its questionnaire to the three largest 
respondents, listed here in alphabetical order: Bioparques, Del Campo, 
and Productora Agricola.\9\
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    \7\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 85 FR 68841 (October 30, 2020).
    \8\ See Memorandum, ``2019-2020 Administrative Review of the 
2019 Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on 
Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico: Respondent Selection and Corrected 
Period of Review'' (January 7, 2021). See also Initiation of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 86 FR 
8166 (February 4, 2021) at footnote 10. As the 2019 Agreement was 
signed on September 19, 2019, this date is the beginning of the POR.
    \9\ Id. See also questionnaires issued individually to 
Bioparques, Del Campo and Productora Agricola, each dated January 7, 
2021.
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Scope of the 2019 Agreement

    Merchandise covered by the 2019 Agreement is typically imported 
under the following heading of the HTSUS: Tomatoes imported from Mexico 
covered by this Agreement are classified under the following subheading 
of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States (HTSUS), 
according to the season of importation: 0702. The tariff classification 
is provided for convenience and customs purposes; however, the written 
description of the scope of this 2019 Agreement is dispositive.\10\
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    \10\ For a complete description of the Scope of the 2019 
Agreement, see Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the 2019-2020 Administrative Review of the Agreement 
Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from 
Mexico,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, 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

[[Page 54425]]

investigation was suspended.'' In this case, Commerce and 
representatives of the Mexican tomato producers/exporters accounting 
for substantially all imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico signed the 
2019 Agreement, which suspended the underlying antidumping duty 
investigation, on September 19, 2019. Pursuant to the 2019 Agreement, 
the Mexican signatories agreed that the subject merchandise would be 
subject to minimum reference prices and that at least 85 percent of the 
dumping from the original investigation would be eliminated.\11\ The 
Mexican signatories also agreed to other conditions, including 
quarterly audits,\12\ near-the-border inspections by the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture on all Round and Roma tomatoes and certain 
other types of tomatoes beginning on April 4, 2020,\13\ and limits to 
adjustments to the sales price due to certain changes in condition and 
quality after shipment.\14\
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    \11\ See 2019 Agreement, 84 FR at 49990, at Price Undertaking.
    \12\ See 2019 Agreement, 84 FR at 49991, at Compliance 
Monitoring.
    \13\ Id. at Inspection of Subject Merchandise. See also 
Memorandum, ``Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Inspections,'' 
dated March 17, 2020.
    \14\ See 2019 Agreement, 84 FR 49996 at Appendix D.
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    After reviewing the information received to date from the 
respondent companies in their questionnaire and supplemental 
questionnaire responses, we preliminarily determine that the 
respondents have adhered to the terms of the 2019 Agreement, except for 
certain instances of inadvertent and/or inconsequential noncompliance, 
and that the 2019 Agreement is functioning as intended. Further, we 
preliminarily determine that the 2019 Agreement continues to meet the 
statutory requirements under sections 734(c) and (d) of the Act. For a 
full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum. Commerce is addressing proprietary 
issues concerning each of the respondents in separate memoranda which 
we incorporate into the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\15\
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    \15\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 6 and footnote 47.
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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(3)(a) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final results. 
Normally, Commerce verifies information using standard procedures, 
including an on-site examination of original accounting, financial, and 
sales documentation. While we consider the possibility of conducting an 
on-site verification for some of the information submitted by the 
respondents, we may also need to verify the information relied upon in 
making the final results through alternative means in lieu of an on-
site verification. Commerce intends to notify parties of its 
verification procedures.

Public Comment

    Interested parties will be notified of the timeline for the 
submission of case briefs and written comments at a later date. 
Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be 
submitted no later than seven days after the deadline date for case 
briefs.
    Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its 
requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary 
information, until further notice.\16\ 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.\17\
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    \16\ See Temporary Rule, 85 FR 17006; see also Temporary Rule 
Modifying ADICVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of 
Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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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 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.
    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, unless extended.
    We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: September 24, 2021.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations.
[FR Doc. 2021-21338 Filed 9-30-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P