[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55997-55999]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19769]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-427-833]


Certain Preserved Mushrooms From France: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that certain preserved mushrooms (preserved mushrooms) from 
France are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at 
less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation is January 1, 
2021, through December 31, 2021. Interested parties are invited to 
comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable September 13, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Williams, AD/CVD 
Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5166.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Commerce initiated this investigation on April 20, 2022.\1\ 
Bonduelle Europe Long Life (Bonduelle) and France Champignon are the 
mandatory respondents in this investigation. For a complete description 
of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\2\ A list of topics

[[Page 55998]]

included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix 
II to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public 
document and is made available to the public 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 https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \1\ See Certain Preserved Mushrooms from France, the 
Netherlands, Poland, and Spain: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 87 FR 24941 (April 27, 2022) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation 
of Certain Preserved Mushrooms from France,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are preserved mushrooms 
from France. For a full description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\3\ we 
set aside a period of time, as stated in the Initiation Notice, for 
parties to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\4\ No 
interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as it 
appeared in the Initiation Notice. Commerce is not modifying the scope 
language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the complete 
description of the scope in Appendix I to this notice.
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    \3\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 62 FR 27296, 
27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \4\ See Initiation Notice, 87 FR at 24942.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Pursuant 
to section 776(a) of the Act, Commerce has preliminarily relied upon 
facts otherwise available to assign estimated weighted-average dumping 
margins to the mandatory respondents in this investigation because 
neither of the respondents submitted a response to Commerce's 
antidumping duty questionnaire. Further, Commerce preliminarily 
determines that these mandatory respondents failed to cooperate by not 
acting to the best of their abilities to comply with a request for 
information and is using an adverse inference in selecting from among 
the facts otherwise available (i.e., applying adverse facts available 
(AFA)) to these respondents, in accordance with section 776(b) of the 
Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Section 733(d)(1)(ii) of the Act provides that, in the preliminary 
determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-others rate 
for all exporters and producers not individually investigated in 
accordance with section 735(c)(5) of the Act. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of 
the Act states that generally the estimated rate for all others shall 
be an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-
average dumping margins established for exporters and producers 
individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis margins, 
and any margins determined entirely under section 776 of the Act. The 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins in this preliminary 
determination were calculated entirely under section 776 of the Act. In 
cases where no weighted-average dumping margins other than zero, de 
minimis, or those determined entirely under section 776 of the Act have 
been established for individually examined entities, in accordance with 
section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, Commerce typically calculates a simple 
average of the margins alleged in the petition and applies the results 
to all other entities not individually examined.\5\
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    \5\ See, e.g., Thermal Paper from Spain: Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 86 FR 54162, 54163 (September 30, 
2021), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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    In the Petitions,\6\ Giorgio Goods, Inc. (the petitioner) 
calculated three estimated dumping margins, 124.41 percent, 188.75 
percent and 360.88 percent. Therefore, consistent with our practice, 
for the all-others rate in this investigation, we preliminarily 
assigned a simple average of the dumping margins alleged in the 
Petitions, which is 224.68 percent.\7\
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    \6\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Certain Preserved Mushrooms from 
France, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain--Petition for the 
Imposition of Antidumping Duties,'' dated March 31, 2022 
(Petitions), at Volume II; see also Checklist, ``AD Investigation 
Initiation Checklist: Certain Preserved Mushrooms from France,'' 
dated April 20, 2022 (Initiation Checklist); and Petitioner's 
Letter, ``Certain Preserved Mushrooms from France, Netherlands, 
Poland, and Spain--Petitioner's Supplement to Volume II Relating to 
Request for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on imports from 
France,'' dated April 8, 2022 (Petition Supplemental).
    \7\ See Petitions at Volume II; see also Initiation Checklist; 
and Petition Supplemental.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist during the period January 1, 
2021, through December 31, 2021:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonduelle Europe Long Life..................................      360.88
France Champignon...........................................      360.88
All Others..................................................      224.68
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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 all entries of preserved mushrooms from France, as described in the 
``Scope of the Investigation'' in Appendix I, entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of 
this notice in the Federal Register.
    We will also instruct CBP, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), to require a cash deposit equal to the 
margins indicated in the chart above. These suspension of liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Verification

    Because the mandatory respondents in this investigation did not act 
to the best of their abilities to provide information requested by 
Commerce, and Commerce preliminarily determines each of the mandatory 
respondents to be uncooperative, we will not conduct verifications.

Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with a 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 the notice of 
preliminary determination in the Federal Register, in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce preliminarily applied AFA 
to each of the mandatory respondents in this investigation, and applied 
an AFA rate based on the Petitions, there are no calculations to 
disclose.

Public Comment

    Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination no later than 30 days after the date of publication of 
this preliminary determination.\8\ Rebuttal

[[Page 55999]]

briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no 
later than seven days after the deadline date for case briefs.\9\ 
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case 
briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding 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. Commerce has modified 
certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business 
proprietary information until further notice.\10\
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for 
general filing requirements).
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \10\ 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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    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 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 in the Federal Register. 
Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and telephone 
number; (2) the number of participants and whether any participant is a 
foreign national; and (3) 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.

Final Determination

    Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that 
Commerce will issue the final determination within 75 days after the 
date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, Commerce will make 
its final determination no later than 75 days after the signature date 
of this preliminary determination.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of our affirmative 
preliminary determination. If our 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 our final determination 
whether these imports are materially injuring, 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: September 7, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is certain 
preserved mushrooms, whether imported whole, sliced, diced, or as 
stems and pieces. The preserved mushrooms covered under this 
investigation are the genus Agaricus. ``Preserved mushrooms'' refer 
to mushrooms that have been prepared or preserved by cleaning, 
blanching, and sometimes slicing or cutting. These mushrooms are 
then packed and heat sterilized in containers each holding a net 
drained weight of not more than 12 ounces (340.2 grams), including 
but not limited to cans or glass jars, in a suitable liquid medium, 
including but not limited to water, brine, butter, or butter sauce. 
Preserved mushrooms may be imported whole, sliced, diced, or as 
stems and pieces.
    Excluded from the scope are ``marinated,'' ``acidified,'' or 
``pickled'' mushrooms, which are prepared or preserved by means of 
vinegar or acetic acid, but may contain oil or other additives. To 
be prepared or preserved by means of vinegar or acetic acid, the 
merchandise must be a minimum 0.5 percent by weight acetic acid.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation is classifiable 
under subheadings 2003.10.0127, 2003.10.0131, and 2003.10.0137 of 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The 
subject merchandise may also be classified under HTSUS subheadings 
2003.10.0143, 2003.10.0147, and 2003.10.0153. Although the HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the merchandise under investigation is 
dispositive.

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

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Application of Facts Available, Use of Adverse Inference, and 
Calculation of All-Others Rate
V. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-19769 Filed 9-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P