[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 194 (Friday, October 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60994-60995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21868]


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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 2020-2021 Administrative 
Review

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that the respondents selected for individual examination, 
International Greenhouse Produce, S.A. de C.V. (IGP) and Negocio 
Agricola San Enrique, S.A. de C.V. and its affiliates (NASE), as a 
whole complied with the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty 
Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico (2019 Agreement), for the 
period of review (POR) September 1, 2020, through August 31, 2021, 
except for certain instances of inconsequential or inadvertent 
noncompliance. We preliminarily determine that such noncompliance does 
not materially frustrate the purposes of the 2019 Agreement; however, 
we intend to address such noncompliance of the respondent IGP by 
engaging in Operations Consultations pursuant to Section VII.G the 2019 
Agreement. Commerce also preliminarily determines that the 2019 
Agreement continued to meet the statutory requirements under sections 
734(c) and (d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) during 
the POR.

DATES: Applicable October 7, 2022.

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 a suspension agreement \1\ 
under section 734(c) of the Act, with representatives of Mexican fresh 
tomato producers/exporters accounting for substantially all imports of 
fresh tomatoes from Mexico, suspending the antidumping duty (AD) 
investigation on fresh tomatoes from Mexico.\2\
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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.
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    On September 17, 2021, the Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE),\3\ a 
member of the U.S. petitioning industry, filed a request for an 
administrative review of the 2019 Agreement.\4\ Commerce initiated the 
review of the 2019 Agreement on November 5, 2021.\5\ On February 3, 
2022, Commerce selected mandatory respondents and issued its 
questionnaire to two respondents, listed here in alphabetical order: 
International Greenhouse Produce and Negocio Agricola San Enrique, 
S.A.\6\
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    \3\ 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.
    \4\ See FTE's Letter, ``Request for Administrative Review,'' 
dated September 17, 2021.
    \5\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 86 FR 61121 (November 5, 2021).
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection and Corrected Period 
of Review,'' dated February 3, 2022.
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Scope of the 2019 Agreement

    Merchandise covered by the 2019 Agreement is typically 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.\7\
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    \7\ For a complete description of the Scope of the 2019 
Agreement, see Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the 2020-2021 Administrative Review: 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

[[Page 60995]]

status of, and compliance with, any agreement by reason of which an 
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 to sell subject merchandise at or above 
certain minimum reference prices, and that their pricing would 
eliminate at least 85 percent of the dumping determined in the 
antidumping duty investigation.\8\ The Mexican signatories also agreed 
to other conditions, including quarterly audits,\9\ 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,\10\ and limits to adjustments to the sales price due to certain 
changes in condition and quality after shipment.\11\
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    \8\ See 2019 Agreement, 84 FR at 49990, at Price Undertaking.
    \9\ Id., 84 FR at 49991, at Compliance Monitoring.
    \10\ Id. at Inspection of Subject Merchandise; see also 
Memorandum, ``Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Inspections,'' 
dated March 17, 2020.
    \11\ 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 inconsequential or inadvertent noncompliance that 
does not materially frustrate the purposes of the 2019 Agreement. We 
intend to address such noncompliance of the respondent IGP by engaging 
in Operations Consultations pursuant to Section VII.G of the 2019 
Agreement. We also preliminarily determine that the 2019 Agreement is 
functioning as intended and 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 analysis underlying our conclusions, 
see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. Commerce examines issues 
involving the discussion of proprietary information concerning each of 
the respondents in separate memoranda which we incorporate into the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\12\ A list of topics discussed in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as an appendix 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 https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \12\ See Memoranda, ``Preliminary Analysis of Proprietary 
Information and Argument Regarding International Greenhouse 
Produce,'' dated concurrently with this notice; and ``Preliminary 
Analysis of Proprietary Information and Argument Regarding Negocio 
Agricola San Enrique S.A. and its Affiliates,'' dated concurrently 
with this notice.
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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, Commerce may 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, as 
applicable.

Public Comment

    Case briefs are due 30 days from the publication of these 
preliminary results in the Federal Register. Rebuttal briefs, limited 
to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven 
days after the deadline date for case briefs.\13\ 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.\14\ All briefs must be filed 
electronically using ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be 
received successfully in its entirety by the established deadline. Note 
that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for 
serving documents containing business proprietary information, until 
further notice.\15\
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1).
    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \15\ See Temporary Rule.
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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.\16\ 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. Issues raised in the hearing will be 
limited to those raised in the respective case and rebuttal briefs. 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.
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    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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    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.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: September 30, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Scope of the 2019 Agreement
III. Background
IV. Preliminary Results of Review
V. Discussion of the Issues
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-21868 Filed 10-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P