[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66526-66528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25596]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-552-833]


Raw Honey From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that raw honey from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) is 
being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair 
value (LTFV). The period of investigation is October 1, 2020, through 
March 31, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this 
preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable November 23, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Hill or Paola Aleman Ordaz, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3518 or (202) 
482-4031, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
initiated this LTFV investigation on May 18, 2021.\1\ On August 26, 
2021, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this 
investigation and the revised deadline is now November 17, 2021.\2\
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    \1\ See Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and 
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigations, 86 FR 26897 (May 18, 2021) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ See Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and 
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 86 FR 
47624 (August 26, 2021).
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically 
via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to 
registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete 
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at http://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Raw Honey from the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam: Decision Memorandum for Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is raw honey from 
Vietnam. For a full description of the scope of this investigation, see 
Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ No interested 
parties submitted comments on the scope of this investigation.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Because Vietnam is a non-
market economy, within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, 
Commerce has calculated normal value (NV) in accordance with section 
773 of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying the 
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,6 Commerce explained that it 
would calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents 
that are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy 
Bulletin 05.1 describes this practice.\7\
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    \6\ See Initiation Notice, 86 FR at 26901.
    \7\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on 
Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.

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[[Page 66527]]

Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
              Producer                       Exporter           dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ban Me Thuot Honeybee Joint Stock     Ban Me Thuot Honeybee       413.99
 Company.                              Joint Stock Company.
Daklak Honeybee Joint Stock Company.  Daklak Honeybee Joint       410.93
                                       Stock Company.
Dak Nguyen Hong Exploitation of       Dak Nguyen Hong             412.49
 Honey Company Limited TA.             Exploitation of Honey
                                       Company Limited TA.
Nhieu Loc Company Limited...........  Nhieu Loc Company           412.49
                                       Limited.
Hoang Tri Honey Bee Company Limited.  Hoang Tri Honey Bee         412.49
                                       Company Limited.
Viet Thanh Food Technology            Viet Thanh Food             412.49
 Development Investment Company        Technology
 Limited.                              Development
                                       Investment Company
                                       Limited.
Dongnai HoneyBee Corporation........  Dongnai HoneyBee            412.49
                                       Corporation.
Saigon Bees Co., Ltd................  Saigon Bees Co., Ltd..      412.49
Huong Rung Co., Ltd.................  Huong Rung Co., Ltd...      412.49
Hai Phong Honeybee Company Limited..  Hai Phong Honeybee          412.49
                                       Company Limited.
Bao Nguyen Honeybee Co., Ltd........  Bao Nguyen Honeybee         412.49
                                       Co., Ltd.
Southern Honey Bee Company LTD......  Southern Honey Bee          412.49
                                       Company LTD.
Golden Bee Company Limited..........  Golden Bee Company          412.49
                                       Limited.
Than Hao Bees Company Limited.......  Than Hao Bees Company       412.49
                                       Limited.
Daisy Honey Bee Joint Stock Company.  Daisy Honey Bee Joint       412.49
                                       Stock Company.
Bee Honey Corporation of Ho Chi Minh  Bee Honey Corporation       412.49
 City.                                 of Ho Chi Minh City.
Phong Son Limited Company...........  Phong Son Limited           412.49
                                       Company.
Hoa Viet Honey Bee Co., Ltd.........  Hoa Viet Honey Bee          412.49
                                       Co., Ltd.
Vietnam-wide Entity.................  Vietnam-wide Entity...      412.49
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register, as discussed below. 
Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal 
to the weighted average amount by which NV exceeds U.S. price, as 
indicated in the table above as follows: (1) For the producer/exporter 
combinations listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate is equal 
to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed for that 
combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of Vietnam 
producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration that have not 
established eligibility for their own separate rates, the cash deposit 
rate will be equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
established for the Vietnam-wide entity; and (3) for all third-country 
exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in the table 
above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable to the 
Vietnam producer/exporter combination (or the Vietnam-wide entity) that 
supplied that third-country exporter. These suspension of liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination 
within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this 
notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination. 
Normally, Commerce verifies information using standard procedures, 
including an on-site examination of original accounting, financial, and 
sales documentation. However, due to current travel restrictions in 
response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Commerce is unable to conduct 
on-site verification in this investigation. Accordingly, we intend to 
take additional steps in lieu of on-site verification.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. A timeline for the 
submission of case briefs and written comments on non-scope issues will 
be announced at a later date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised 
in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the 
deadline for case briefs.\8\ Note that Commerce has temporarily 
modified certain of its requirements for serving documents containing 
business proprietary information, until further notice.\9\ 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.
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \9\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due 
to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020); and 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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    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

[[Page 66528]]

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 and time of the hearing two days before the scheduled date of 
the hearing.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations 
requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final 
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional 
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months 
in duration.
    On November 9, 2021, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), the petitioners 
and Ban Me Thuot requested that Commerce postpone the final 
determination and that provisional measures be extended to a period not 
to exceed six months.\10\ In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of 
the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) The preliminary 
determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters account for 
a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) 
no compelling reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the 
final determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-
month period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, 
Commerce will make its final determination no later than 135 days after 
the date of publication of this preliminary determination.
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    \10\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Raw Honey from Argentina, 
Brazil, India, Ukraine, and Vietnam--Petitioners' Request for 
Postponement of the Final Determination,'' dated November 9, 2021; 
see also Ban Me Thuot's Letter, ``Raw Honey from the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam--Request to Extend Final Determination,'' dated 
November 9, 2021.
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination 
whether these imports materially injure, or threaten material injury 
to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: November 17, 2021.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, Performing the 
Non-Exclusive Functions and Duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation 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.
    Exclude 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 this investigation 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 this investigation 
is dispositive.

Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Currency Conversion
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2021-25596 Filed 11-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P