2023-00931. Certain Preserved Mushrooms From France: Antidumping Duty Order

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing an antidumping duty order on certain preserved mushrooms (preserved mushrooms) from France.

DATES:

Applicable January 19, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Christopher Williams, AD/CVD Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), on November 28, 2022, Commerce published its affirmative final determination in the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation of preserved mushrooms from France. ^[1] On January 12, 2023, the ITC notified Commerce of its final determination, pursuant to section 735(d) of the Act, that an industry in the United States is materially injured within the meaning of section 735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act by reason of LTFV imports of preserved mushrooms from France.^[2]

Scope of the Order

The product covered by this order is preserved mushrooms from France. For a complete description of the scope of the order, see the appendix to this notice.

Antidumping Duty Order

On January 12, 2023, in accordance with sections 735(b)(1)(A)(i) and 735(d) of the Act, the ITC notified Commerce of its final determination that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of imports of preserved mushrooms from France. Therefore, Commerce is issuing this antidumping duty order in accordance with sections 735(c)(2) and 736 of the Act. Because the ITC determined that imports of preserved mushrooms from France are materially injuring a U.S. industry, unliquidated entries of such merchandise from France, entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, are subject to the assessment of antidumping duties.

Therefore, in accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Act, Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties equal to the amount by which the normal value of the merchandise exceeds the export price (or constructed export price) of the merchandise, for all relevant entries of preserved mushrooms from France. Antidumping duties will be assessed on unliquidated entries of preserved mushrooms from France, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after September 13, 2022, the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination, but will not include entries occurring after the expiration of the provisional measures period and before publication of the ITC's final injury determination, as further described below.^[3]

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits

In accordance with section 736 of the Act, Commerce will instruct CBP to continue to suspend liquidation on all relevant entries of preserved mushrooms from France which are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of the ITC's notice of final determination in the Federal Register . These instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further notice.

Commerce will also instruct CBP to require cash deposits equal to the amounts indicated below. Accordingly, effective on the date of publication in the Federal Register of the notice of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination, CBP will require, at the same time as importers would normally deposit estimated duties on this subject merchandise, a cash deposit equal to the cash deposit rates listed in the table below. The all-others rate applies to all producers or exporters not specifically listed, as appropriate.

Estimated Weighted-Average Dumping Margins

The estimated weighted-average dumping margins for this antidumping order are as follows:

Exporter/producer	Weighted- average dumping margin (percent)
Bonduelle Europe Long Life	* 360.88
France Champignon	* 360.88
All-Others	224.68
* Rate based on adverse facts available.

Provisional Measures

Section 733(d) of the Act states that suspension of liquidation pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in effect for more than four months, except where exporters representing a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise request that Commerce extend the four-month period to no more than six months. Commerce's Preliminary Determination was published on September 13, 2022.^[4] Commerce's Final Determination was not extended and was published on November 28, 2022.^[5] As such, the four-month period beginning on the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination ended on January 10, 2023.

Therefore, in accordance with section 733(d) of the Act, Commerce will instruct CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation and to liquidate, without regard to antidumping duties, unliquidated entries of preserved mushrooms from France, entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption after January 10, 2023, the date on which provisional measures expired, through the day preceding the date of publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination in the Federal Register . Suspension of liquidation and the collection of cash deposits will resume on the date of publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination in the Federal Register .

Establishment of the Annual Inquiry Service Lists

On September 20, 2021, Commerce published the final rule titled “ Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws” in the Federal Register .^[6] On September 27, 2021, Commerce also published the notice titled “ Scope Ruling Application; Annual Inquiry Service List; and Informational Sessions” in the Federal Register .^[7] The Final Rule and Procedural Guidance provide that Commerce will maintain an annual inquiry service list for each order or suspended investigation, and any interested party submitting a scope ruling application or request for circumvention inquiry shall serve a copy of the application or request on the persons on the annual inquiry service list for that order, as well as any companion order covering the same merchandise from the same country of origin.^[8]

In accordance with the Procedural Guidance, for orders published in the Federal Register after November 4, 2021, Commerce will create an annual inquiry service list segment in Commerce's online e-filing and document management system, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Electronic Service System (ACCESS), available at https://access.trade.gov, within five business days of publication of the notice of the order. Each annual inquiry service list will be saved in ACCESS, under each case number, and under a specific segment type called “AISL-Annual Inquiry Service List.” ^[9]

Interested parties who wish to be added to the annual inquiry service list for an order must submit an entry of appearance to the annual inquiry service list segment for the order in ACCESS within 30 days after the date of publication of the order. For ease of administration, Commerce requests that law firms with more than one attorney representing interested parties in an order designate a lead attorney to be included on the annual inquiry service list. Commerce will finalize the annual inquiry service list within five business days thereafter. As mentioned in the Procedural Guidance, the new annual inquiry service list will be in place until the following year, when the Opportunity Notice for the anniversary month of the order is published.

Commerce may update an annual inquiry service list at any time as needed based on interested parties' amendments to their entries of appearance to remove or otherwise modify their list of members and representatives, or to update contact information. Any changes or announcements pertaining to these procedures will be posted to the ACCESS website at https://access.trade.gov.

Special Instructions for Petitioners and Foreign Governments

In the Final Rule, Commerce stated that, “after an initial request and placement on the annual inquiry service list, both petitioners and foreign governments will automatically be placed on the annual inquiry service list in the years that follow.” ^[10] Accordingly, as stated above, the petitioners and foreign governments should submit their initial entry of appearance after publication of this notice in order to appear in the first annual inquiry service list. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.225(n)(3), the petitioners and foreign governments will not need to resubmit their entries of appearance each year to continue to be included on the annual inquiry service list. However, the petitioners and foreign governments are responsible for making amendments to their entries of appearance during the annual update to the annual inquiry service list in accordance with the procedures described above.

Notification to Interested Parties

This notice constitutes the antidumping duty order with respect to preserved mushrooms from France pursuant to section 736(a) of the Act. Interested parties can find a list of antidumping duty orders currently in effect at https://www.trade.gov/​data-visualization/​adcvd-proceedings.

This order is published in accordance with section 736(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

Dated: January 12, 2023.

Lisa W. Wang,

Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Order

The merchandise covered by this order is certain preserved mushrooms, whether imported whole, sliced, diced, or as stems and pieces. The preserved mushrooms covered under this order 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 order 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 scope is dispositive.

Footnotes

1.   See Certain Preserved Mushrooms from France: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 87 FR 72963 (November 28, 2022) ( Final Determination).

2.   See ITC's Letter, Investigation No. 731-TA-1587 (Final), dated January 12, 2023.

3.   See Certain Preserved Mushrooms from France: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,87 FR 55997 (September 13, 2022) ( Preliminary Determination).

4.   Id.

5.   See Final Determination.

6.   See Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws,86 FR 52300 (September 20, 2021) ( Final Rule).

7.   See Scope Ruling Application; Annual Inquiry Service List; and Informational Sessions,86 FR 53205 (September 27, 2021) ( Procedural Guidance).

8.   Id.

9.  This segment will be combined with the ACCESS Segment Specific Information (SSI) field, which will display the month in which the notice of the order or suspended investigation was published in the Federal Register , also known as the anniversary month. For example, for an order under case number A-000-000 that published in the Federal Register in January, the relevant segment and SSI combination will appear in ACCESS as “AISL-January Anniversary.” Note that there will be only one annual inquiry service list segment per case number, and the anniversary month will be pre-populated in ACCESS.

10.   See Final Rule, 86 FR at 52335.