Honey From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results and Preliminary Intent To Rescind of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2017-2018

Citation84 FR 66374
Record Number2019-26219
Published date04 December 2019
SectionNotices
CourtCommerce Department,International Trade Administration
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2019)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 66374-66375]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2019-26219]
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                Notices
                 Federal Register
                ________________________________________________________________________
                This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
                or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
                and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
                delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
                statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
                appearing in this section.
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                Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 4, 2019 /
                Notices
                [[Page 66374]]
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                DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
                International Trade Administration
                [A-570-863]
                Honey From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results
                and Preliminary Intent To Rescind of Antidumping Duty Administrative
                Review; 2017-2018
                AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
                Department of Commerce.
                SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
                that Jiangsu Runchen Agricultural/Sideline Foodstuff Co., Ltd.
                (Runchen) did not make a bona fide sale of honey for the period of
                review (POR) December 1, 2017 through November 30, 2018. Therefore,
                Commerce preliminarily intends to rescind this administrative review.
                Interested parties are invited to comment on the preliminary results of
                this review.
                DATES: Applicable December 4, 2019.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jasun Moy or Kabir Archuletta, AD/CVD
                Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
                Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
                NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-8194 or (202) 482-2593,
                respectively.
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                Background
                 On March 14, 2019, Commerce initiated an administrative review of
                the antidumping duty order on honey from the People's Republic of China
                (China) in accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
                amended (the Act), with respect to three companies: Runchen; Inner
                Mongolia Komway Import & Export Co., Ltd.; and Shenzhen Long Sheng
                Shang Mao Ltd.\1\ On June 24, 2019, Commerce rescinded its review of
                two of these companies, leaving Runchen as the sole mandatory
                respondent in this review.\2\
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                 \1\ See Honey from the People's Republic of China: Continuation
                of Antidumping Duty Order, 83 FR 18277 (April 2, 2018); see also
                Honey from the People's Republic of China: Affirmative Final
                Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty Order, 77 FR
                50464 (August 21, 2012); and Initiation of Antidumping and
                Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 9297 (March 14,
                2019) (Initiation Notice).
                 \2\ See Honey from the People's Republic of China: Partial
                Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2017-2018, 84
                FR 29498 (June 24, 2019).
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                 In accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1), the preliminary and final
                results deadlines in administrative reviews are calculated based on the
                ``last day of the anniversary month of the order or suspension
                agreement for which the administrative review was requested,'' which in
                this proceeding was December 31, 2018. Commerce exercised its
                discretion to toll all deadlines affected by the partial federal
                government closure from December 22, 2018 through the resumption of
                operations on January 29, 2019, by 40 days.\3\ This review was
                therefore initiated on March 13, 2019.\4\ As a result, the time period
                allotted to Commerce for conducting this administrative review
                overlapped the tolling period by 31 days. Accordingly, Commerce tolled
                all deadlines by 31 days for this review.\5\ On September 19, 2019,
                pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act, Commerce determined that
                it was not practicable to complete the preliminary results of this
                review within the 245 days and extended the preliminary results by 61
                days.\6\ The revised deadline for the preliminary results in this
                review is now December 3, 2019.
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                 \3\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Partial Shutdown
                of the Federal Government,'' dated January 28, 2019. All deadlines
                in this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 31 days.
                 \4\ See Initiation Notice.
                 \5\ See Memorandum, ``December Order Deadlines Affected by the
                Partial Shutdown of the Federal Government,'' dated August 7, 2019.
                 \6\ See Memorandum, ``Honey from the People's Republic of China:
                Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty
                Administrative Review,'' dated September 19, 2019.
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                Scope of the Order
                 The merchandise subject to this order are natural honey, artificial
                honey containing more than 50 percent natural honey by weight,
                preparations of natural honey containing more than 50 percent natural
                honey by weight, and flavored honey. For a full description of the
                scope, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\7\
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                 \7\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
                Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of Honey from
                the People's Republic of China; 2017-2018,'' dated concurrently
                with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision
                Memorandum).
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                China-Wide Entity
                 Commerce's policy regarding conditional review of the China-wide
                entity applies to this administrative review.\8\ Under this policy, the
                China-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 China-wide entity in this review,
                the entity is not under review and the entity's rate (i.e., $2.63 per
                kilogram) is not subject to change.\9\
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                 \8\ 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).
                 \9\ See Honey from the People's Republic of China: Final Results
                of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2012-2013, 80 FR 27633-34
                (May 14, 2015).
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                Methodology
                 Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section
                751(a)(1)(B) of the Act. For a full description of the methodology
                underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A
                list of the topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is
                included as an appendix 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, and it is available to
                all parties in the Central Records Unit, room B8024 of the main
                Commerce building. The signed and electronic versions of the
                Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
                [[Page 66375]]
                Preliminary Rescission of the Administrative Review
                 As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum and as
                expounded upon in the Bona Fide Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily
                finds that the sale made by Runchen serving as the basis for this
                review is not a bona fide sale of honey.\10\ Commerce reached this
                conclusion based on the totality of the record information surrounding
                Runchen's reported sale, including, but not limited to, the sales price
                and quantity, the profitability of the resold subject merchandise, the
                late payments, the limited number of sales (i.e., one sale), and the
                importer/exporter experience and likelihood of future sales.
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                 \10\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Bona Fide Sales Analysis,''
                dated concurrently with this notice (Bona Fide Memorandum).
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                 Because the non-bona fide sale was the only reported sale of
                subject merchandise during the POR, we find that Runchen had no
                reviewable transactions during this POR. Accordingly, we preliminarily
                intend to rescind this administrative review.\11\ The factual
                information used in our bona fides analysis of Runchen's sale involves
                business proprietary information. See the Bona Fide Memorandum for a
                full discussion of the basis for our preliminary findings.
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                 \11\ See 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3).
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                Public Comment
                 Interested parties are invited to comment on the preliminary
                results and may submit case briefs and/or written comments, filed
                electronically using ACCESS, within 30 days of the date of publication
                of this notice, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii). Rebuttal briefs,
                limited to issues raised in the case briefs, will be due five days
                after the due date for case briefs, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(d).
                Parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs in this review are requested
                to submit with each argument a statement of the issue, a summary of the
                argument not to exceed five pages, and a table of statutes,
                regulations, and cases cited, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2).
                 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.
                 Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
                request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant
                Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via
                ACCES. An electronically filed document must be received successfully
                in its entirety by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date
                of publication of this notice. Requests should contain: (1) The party's
                name, address and telephone number; (2) the number of participants; (3)
                whether any participant is a foreign national; and (4) a list of issues
                parties intend to discuss. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited
                to those raised in the respective case and rebuttal briefs.\12\ If a
                request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at
                the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW,
                Washington, DC 20230, at a date and time to be determined.\13\ Parties
                should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing
                two days before the scheduled date.
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                 \12\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
                 \13\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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                 Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final
                results of this administrative review, which will include the results
                of its analysis of issues raised in any briefs, within 120 days of
                publication of these preliminary results, pursuant to section
                751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.
                Assessment Rates
                 If Commerce proceeds to a final rescission of this administrative
                review, the assessment rate to which Runchen's shipments are subject
                will not be affected by this review. If Commerce does not proceed to a
                final rescission of this administrative review, pursuant to 19 CFR
                351.212(b)(1), we will calculate importer-specific (or customer-
                specific) assessment rates based on the final results of this review.
                Cash Deposit Requirements
                 If Commerce proceeds to a final rescission of this administrative
                review, Runchen's cash deposit rate will continue to be the China-wide
                rate of $2.63 per kilogram. If Commerce issues final results for this
                administrative review, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border
                Protection to collect cash deposits, effective upon the publication of
                the final results, at the rates established therein.
                Notification to Importers
                 This notice also 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 assessment of doubled
                antidumping duties.
                Notification to Interested Parties
                 This administrative review and notice are issued and published in
                accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
                351.221(b)(4).
                 Dated: November 29, 2019.
                Jeffrey I. Kessler,
                Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
                Appendix
                List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
                I. Summary
                II. Background
                III. Scope of the Order
                IV. Discussion of the Methodology
                V. Recommendation
                [FR Doc. 2019-26219 Filed 12-3-19; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
                

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