[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55554-55557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14762]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-552-833]


Raw Honey From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2023

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that Ban Me Thout Honeybee Joint Stock Company (BMT), Daklak 
Honeybee Joint Stock Company (DakHoney), and 13 non-individually 
examined and separate-rate eligible exporters of raw honey from the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) sold subject merchandise to the 
United States at less than normal value (NV) during the period of 
review (POR) August 25, 2021, through May 31, 2023.

DATES: Applicable July 5, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Krisha Hill or Stephanie Trejo, 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) 482-4037 or (202) 482-4390, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On June 10, 2022, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
antidumping duty (AD) order on raw honey from Vietnam. On June 1, 2023, 
Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of opportunity to 
request an administrative review of the Order.\1\ In the June 
Opportunity Notice Commerce inadvertently listed an incorrect POR for 
this proceeding.\2\ Commerce noted this error in its August Initiation 
Notice in which it initiated the review for this proceeding.\3\ 
Commerce also noted the error in a subsequent opportunity notice, 
giving parties a further opportunity to request an administrative 
review using the correct POR.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Raw Honey From Argentina, Brazil, India, and the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Antidumping Duty Orders, 87 FR 35501 
(June 10, 2022) (Order); and Antidumping or Countervailing Duty 
Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request 
Administrative Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 
35835 (June 1, 2023) (June Opportunity Notice).
    \2\ See June Opportunity Notice, 88 FR at 35837.
    \3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 51271, 51276 (August 3, 2023) (August 
Initiation Notice).
    \4\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative 
Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 50840 (August 2, 
2023) (August Opportunity Notice).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On August 3, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
initiation notice of an administrative review of the AD Order on raw 
honey from Vietnam.\5\ Commerce further published an addendum to the 
August Initiation Notice in which it initiated a review of raw honey 
from Vietnam for two companies, one that requested a review based on 
the August Opportunity Notice and one company for which Commerce failed 
to initiate a review based on its request for review made pursuant to 
the June Opportunity Notice.\6\ Commerce selected BMT and DakHoney as 
mandatory respondents in this administrative review.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ See August Initiation Notice.
    \6\ See Raw Honey From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: 
Addendum to Initiation of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 88 
FR 65155 (September 21, 2023) (August Initiation Notice Addendum). 
The August Initiation Notice and August Initiation Notice Addendum 
list 35 companies. However, in the August Initiation Notice, 
Commerce mistakenly listed Hung Thinh Trading Pvt twice. 
Additionally, we note that review requests were filed for two 
separate companies with minor variations in their names: Daklak 
Honey Bee JSC and Daklak Honeybee Joint Stock Company, and Dong Nai 
Honey Bee Corp and Dongnai HoneyBee Corporation. Accordingly, 
Commerce initiated this administrative review with respect to the 32 
companies.
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated October 5, 
2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On January 29, 2024, Commerce extended the deadline for these 
preliminary results to June 28, 2024.\8\ For a complete description of 
the events that followed the initiation of this administrative review, 
see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated January 
29, 2024.
    \9\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Raw Honey 
from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; 2021-2023,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the Order

    The product covered by this Order is raw honey from Vietnam. Raw 
honey is honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by 
extraction, settling and skimming, or coarse straining. 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.
    A full description of the scope of the Order is contained in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Separate Rates

    The Act and Commerce's regulations do not address the establishment 
of a separate rate to be applied to companies not selected for 
individual examination when Commerce limits its examination in an 
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. 
Generally, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act, which 
provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in an 
investigation, for guidance when calculating the rate for separate-rate 
respondents which Commerce did not examine individually in an 
administrative review. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act states that the 
all-others rate should be calculated by averaging the weighted-average 
dumping margins calculated for individually-examined respondents, 
excluding dumping margins that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely 
on facts available. For the preliminary results of this review, 
Commerce determined the estimated dumping margins for BMT and DakHoney 
to be 100.54 percent and 154.47 percent, respectively, and we have 
assigned to the separate-rate companies a rate of 120.92 percent, which 
is the weighted-

[[Page 55555]]

average dumping margins of BMT and DakHoney weighted by their publicly 
ranged U.S. sales values.\11\ For a listing of the separate rate 
companies, see Appendix II.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally 
calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the dumping margins calculated 
for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the dumping 
margins calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-
average of the dumping margins calculated for the examined 
respondents using each company's publicly ranged U.S. sale 
quantities for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then 
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as 
the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. 
See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, 
Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed Circumstances 
Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53663 
(September 1, 2010).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vietnam-Wide Entity

    Under Commerce's policy regarding the conditional review of the 
Vietnam-wide entity,\12\ the Vietnam-wide entity will not be under 
review unless a party specifically requests, or Commerce self-
initiates, a review of the entity. Because no party requested a review 
of the Vietnam-wide entity in this review, the entity is not under 
review, and the entity's rate (i.e., 60.03 percent) is not subject to 
change.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in 
Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty 
Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity 
in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013).
    \13\ See Order, 87 FR at 35503.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With the exception of BMT, DakHoney, and the companies listed in 
Appendix II, Commerce considers all other companies for which a review 
was requested and did not demonstrate separate rate eligibility to be 
part of the Vietnam-wide entity.\14\ For these preliminary results, we 
consider the following companies to be part of the Vietnam-wide entity 
because they did not file separate rate applications or certifications: 
(1) Bee Honey Corporation of Ho Chi Minh City; (2) Golden Bee Company 
Limited; (3) Golden Honey Co., Ltd.; (4) Hai Phong Honeybee Company 
Limited; (5) Highlands Honeybee Travel Co., Ltd.; (6) Hoa Viet Honeybee 
Co., Ltd.; (7) Hung Binh Phat; (8) Hung Thinh Trading Pvt; (9) Huong 
Rung Co., Ltd.; (10) Huong Viet Honey Co., Ltd.; (11) Nguyen Hong Honey 
Co., LTDTA; (12) Phong Son Co., Ltd.; (13) Saigon Bees Co., Limited; 
(14) Thai Hoa Mat Bees Raising Co., Ltd.; (15) Thai Hoa Viet Mat Bees 
Raising Co.; (16) TNB Foods Co., Ltd.; and (17) Vinawax Producing 
Trading and Service Company Limited. For additional information, see 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ See August Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 51272 (``All firms 
listed below that wish to qualify for separate rate status in the 
administrative reviews involving NME countries must complete, as 
appropriate, either a Separate Rate Application or Certification, as 
described below.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). We 
calculated export price and constructed export price in accordance with 
section 772 of the Act. Because Vietnam is a non-market economy country 
within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, we calculated NV in 
accordance with section 773(c) of the Act. For a full description of 
the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum. 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. A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is included in Appendix I of this notice. In 
addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can 
be found at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Preliminary Results of the Administrative Review

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following weighted-
average dumping margins exist for the administrative review covering 
the period August 25, 2021, through May 31, 2023:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ See Appendix II.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Estimated
                                                              weighted-
                                                               average
                          Exporter                             dumping
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ban Me Thuot Honeybee Joint Stock Company..................       100.54
Daklak Honeybee Joint Stock Company........................       154.47
Separate Rate Companies \15\...............................       120.92
Vietnam-wide Entity........................................        60.03
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure and Public Comment

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed to parties within 
five days after public announcement of the preliminary results or, if 
there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of 
publication of this notice.\16\ Interested parties may submit case 
briefs no later than 30 days after the date of publication of this 
notice.\17\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for filing 
case briefs.\18\ Interested parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs 
in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each 
issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for 
general filing requirements).
    \18\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective 
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 
2023).
    \19\ See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior 
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an 
executive summary of their briefs that should be limited to five pages 
total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that 
interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public, 
executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\20\ Further, 
we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary 
of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We 
intend to use the public executive summaries as the basis of the 
comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that 
will accompany the final results in this administrative review. We 
request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant 
citations in the public executive summary of each issue. Note that 
Commerce has amended certain of its requirements pertaining to the 
service of documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \21\ See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other 
Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings; Final 
Rule, 88 FR 67069 (September 29, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, filed electronically via ACCESS.\22\ 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 issues to be discussed. Issues raised in 
the hearing will be limited to those raised in case and rebuttal 
briefs.\23\ If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to 
hold the

[[Page 55556]]

hearing at a time and date to be determined. A hearing request must be 
filed electronically using ACCESS and received in its entirety by 5:00 
p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the publication of this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \23\ See 19 CFR 351.310.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(3) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information submitted by BMT and DakHoney in advance of the 
final results of this review.

Final Results of Review

    Unless the deadline is extended, Commerce intends to issue the 
final results of this review, including the results of its analysis of 
the issues raised in any written briefs, no later than 120 days after 
the date of publication of this notice, pursuant to section 
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h).

Assessment Rates

    Upon issuing the final results, Commerce will determine, and U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on 
all appropriate entries covered by this review.\24\ Commerce intends to 
issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the 
date of publication of the final results of this review in the Federal 
Register. If a timely summons is filed at the U.S. Court of 
International Trade, the assessment instructions will direct CBP not to 
liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties to file a request 
for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within 90 days of 
publication).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For each individually examined respondent in this review whose 
weighted-average dumping margin in the final results of review is not 
zero or de minimis (i.e., less than 0.5 percent), Commerce intends to 
calculate importer/customer-specific assessment rates.\25\ Where the 
respondent reported reliable entered values, Commerce intends to 
calculate importer/customer-specific ad valorem assessment rates by 
aggregating the amount of dumping calculated for all U.S. sales to the 
importer/customer and dividing this amount by the total entered value 
of the merchandise sold to the importer/customer.\26\ Where the 
respondent did not report entered values, Commerce will calculate 
importer/customer-specific assessment rates by dividing the amount of 
dumping for reviewed sales to the importer/customer by the total 
quantity of those sales. Commerce will calculate an estimated ad 
valorem importer/customer-specific assessment rate to determine whether 
the per-unit assessment rate is de minimis; however, Commerce will use 
the per-unit assessment rate where entered values were not 
reported.\27\ Where an importer/customer-specific ad valorem assessment 
rate is not zero or de minimis, Commerce will instruct CBP to collect 
the appropriate duties at the time of liquidation. Where either the 
respondent's weighted average dumping margin is zero or de minimis, or 
an importer/customer-specific ad valorem assessment rate is zero or de 
minimis, Commerce will instruct CBP to liquidate appropriate entries 
without regard to antidumping duties.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \25\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted 
Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping 
Proceedings: Final Modification, 77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012) 
(Final Modification).
    \26\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    \27\ Id.
    \28\ See Final Modification, 77 FR at 8103.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to Commerce's refinement to its practice, for sales that 
were not reported in the U.S. sales database submitted by a respondent 
individually examined during this review, Commerce will instruct CBP to 
liquidate the entry of such merchandise at the dumping margin assigned 
to the Vietnam-wide entity.\29\ For respondents not individually 
examined in this administrative review that qualified for a separate 
rate, the assessment rate will be equal to the weighted-average dumping 
margin assigned to the respondent in the final results of this 
review.\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \29\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Non-Market 
Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 
76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011).
    \30\ See Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks from the People's Republic 
of China: Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments: 2014-2015, 81 
FR 29528 (May 12, 2016), and accompanying PDM at 10-11, unchanged in 
Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks from the People's Republic of China: 
Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; Final 
Determination of No Shipments; 2014-2015, 81 FR 54042 (August 15, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Additionally, where Commerce determines that an exporter under 
review had no shipments of subject merchandise to the United States 
during the POR, any suspended entries of subject merchandise that 
entered under that exporter's CBP case number during the POR will be 
liquidated at the dumping margin assigned to the Vietnam-wide entity.
    In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, the final 
results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of 
antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by the final 
results of this review and for future deposits of estimated antidumping 
duties, where applicable.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective for all 
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the 
final results of this administrative review, as provided by section 
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) for the exporters listed above, the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margins 
established in the final results of this review, except if the rate is 
de minimis, in which case the cash deposit rate will be zero; (2) for 
previously-examined Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese exporters not listed 
above that at the time of entry are eligible for a separate rate base 
on a prior completed segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit rate 
will continue to the be the existing exporter-specific cash deposit 
rate; (3) for all non-Vietnamese exporters of subject merchandise which 
at the time of entry do not have a separate rate, the cash deposit rate 
will be the rate applicable to the Vietnamese exporter that supplied 
the non-Vietnamese exporter. These cash deposit requirements, when 
imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation 
of the relevant entries during this POR. Failure to comply with this 
requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement 
of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double 
antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    Commerce is issuing and publishing the preliminary results of this 
review in accordance with sections 751(a)(1)(B) and 777(i) of the Act, 
and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: June 28, 2024.
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

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background

[[Page 55557]]

III. Period of Review
IV. Scope of the Order
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Currency Conversion
VII. Recommendation

Appendix II

List of Companies Eligible for Separate Rate

(1) Bao Nguyen Honeybee Co., Ltd.
(2) Daisy Honey Bee Joint Stock Company
(3) Dak Nguyen Hong Exploitation of Honey Company Limited TA
(4) Dongnai HoneyBee Corporation
(5) Hanoi Honey Bee Joint Stock Company
(6) Hoa Viet Honeybee One Member Company Limited
(7) Hoang Tri Honey Bee Co., Ltd.
(8) Huong Rung Trading-Investment and Export Company Limited
(9) Nhieu Loc Company Limited
(10) Southern Honey Bee Company Ltd.
(11) Spring Honeybee Co., Ltd.
(12) Thanh Hao Bees Co., Ltd.
(13) Viet Thanh Food Co., Ltd.

[FR Doc. 2024-14762 Filed 7-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P