E9-8864. Honey from Argentina: Notice of Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

AGENCY:

Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is partially rescinding its administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey from Argentina for the period December 1, 2007, to November 30, 2008, with respect to multiple companies. This rescission is based on the timely withdrawal of the request for review by the interested parties that requested the review. A complete list of the companies for which the administrative review is being rescinded is provided below.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

April 17, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John Drury or Angelica Mendoza, AD/CVD Operations, Office 7, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14^th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 7866, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: [phone] or [phone], respectively.

Background:

On December 1, 2008, the Department published in the Federal Register its notice of opportunity to request an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey from Argentina. See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative Review, 73 FR 72764 (December 1, 2008). In response, on December 30, 2008, the Asociacion de Cooperativas Argentinas requested an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey from Argentina for the period December 1, 2007, through November 30, 2008. On December 31, 2008, the American Honey Producers Association and Sioux Honey Association (collectively, petitioners) requested an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey from Argentina for the period December 1, 2007, through November 30, 2008. Specifically, petitioners requested that the Department conduct an administrative review of entries of subject merchandise made by 17 Argentine producers/exporters.¹ Also on December 31, 2008, Nexco S.A. requested an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey from Argentina for the period December 1, 2007, through November 30, 2008. The Asociacion de Cooperativas Argentinas and Nexco S.A. were included in the petitioners' request for review.

On February 2, 2009, the Department initiated a review of the 17 companies for which an administrative review was requested. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews and Request for Revocation in Part, 74 FR 5821 (February 2, 2009) (Initiation Notice).

The Department received a request for administrative review from Patagonik S.A. (Patagonik) in response to the December 1, 2008, opportunity to request an administrative review. However, its request was dated January 2, 2009, after the December 31, 2008, deadline. On January 23, 2009, the Department returned the letter requesting an administrative review to Patagonik, stating that the request was untimely and that the Department would not initiate a review based on this request. See Letter from the Department of Commerce to Patagonik S.A., dated January 23, 2009. On February 23, 2009, Patagonik submitted a letter requesting that the Department reconsider its decision not to initiate a review based on Patagonik's request. Patagonik provided information to the Department indicating the reasons for the untimely filing of the request. After examining the information, the Department again declined to initiate an administrative review based on Patagonik's request. See Letter from the Department of Commerce to Patagonik S.A., dated March 17, 2009.

On March 6, 2009, petitioners timely withdrew their requests for review of the following companies: AGLH S.A., Algodonera Avellaneda S.A., Alimentos Naturales-Natural Foods, Alma Pura, Bomare S.A. (Bodegas Miguel Armengol), Compania Apicola Argentina S.A. and Mielar S.A., Compania Inversora Platense S.A., EL Mana S.A., HoneyMax S.A., Interrupcion S.A., Miel Ceta SRL, Patagonik S.A., Productos Afer S.A., Seabird Argentina S.A., and Seylinco S.A.

Scope of the Order

The merchandise covered by the order is honey from Argentina. The products covered 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. The subject merchandise includes all grades and colors of honey whether in liquid, creamed, comb, cut comb, or chunk form, and whether packaged for retail or in bulk form.

The merchandise under the scope of the order is currently classifiable under subheadings 0409.00.00, 1702.90.90, and 2106.90.99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) purposes, the Department's written description of the merchandise under this order is dispositive.

Rescission, in Part, of Administrative Review

Section 351.213(d)(1) of the Department's regulations provides that the Department will rescind an administrative review if the party that requested the review withdraws its request for review within 90 days of the date of publication of the notice of initiation of the requested review, or withdraws at a later date if the Department determines it is reasonable to extend the time limit for withdrawing the request.

The petitioners timely withdrew their requests for an administrative review within the 90-day deadline for the following companies: AGLH S.A., Algodonera Avellaneda S.A., Alimentos Naturales-Natural Foods, Alma Pura, Bomare S.A. (Bodegas Miguel Armengol), Compania Apicola Argentina S.A. and Mielar S.A., Compania Inversora Platense S.A., EL Mana S.A., HoneyMax S.A., Interrupcion S.A., Miel Ceta SRL, Patagonik S.A., Productos Afer S.A., Seabird Argentina S.A., and Seylinco S.A. Because the petitioners were the only party to request administrative reviews of each of these companies, we are rescinding the review with regard to AGLH S.A., Algodonera Avellaneda S.A., Alimentos Naturales-Natural Foods, Alma Pura, Bomare S.A. (Bodegas Miguel Armengol), Compania Apicola Argentina S.A. and Mielar S.A., Compania Inversora Platense S.A., EL Mana S.A., HoneyMax S.A., Interrupcion S.A., Miel Ceta SRL, Patagonik S.A., Productos Afer S.A., Seabird Argentina S.A., and Seylinco S.A.

The Department intends to issue appropriate assessment instructions directly to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 15 days after the publication of this notice. The Department will direct CBP to assess antidumping duties for these companies at the cash deposit rate in effect on the date of entry for entries during the period December 1, 2007, to November 30, 2008.

Respondent Selection

On February 10, 2009, the Department issued a respondent selection memorandum containing import data from proprietary CBP records for the period December 1, 2007, to November 30, 2008. In the memorandum, the Department stated that it intended to limit the number of companies examined in this period of review. As petitioners have withdrawn their request for 15 of the 17 companies listed in the Initiation Notice, it is no longer necessary to limit the number of companies examined in this period of review. Consequently, we will individually examine the two remaining companies for which an administrative review has been requested: Asociacion de Cooperativas Argentinas and Nexco S.A.

Notification to Parties

This notice serves as a reminder to importers of their responsibility under section 351.402(f) of the Department's regulations to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this period of time. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in the Secretary's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with section 351.305(a)(3) of the Department's regulations. Timely written notification of the return or destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

This notice is issued and published in accordance with section 351.213(d)(4) of the Department's regulations and sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

Dated: April 9, 2009.

John M. Andersen,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations.

Footnotes

1.  Petitioners requested Compania Apicola Argentina S.A. and Mielar S.A.as separate entities. However, in a previous segment of this proceeding, the Department treated these two companies as a single entity.