[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