2022-19198. Ripe Olives From Spain: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2020

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers/exporters of ripe olives from Spain during the period of review, January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES:

Applicable September 6, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary Kolberg or Theodore Pearson, 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] or [phone], respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On August 1, 2018, Commerce published in the Federal Register the countervailing duty (CVD) order on ripe olives from Spain.^[1] On October 7, 2021, Commerce published the notice of initiation of an administrative review of the Order.^[2] On March 29, 2022, Commerce extended the deadline for the preliminary results of this review by 120 days until August 31, 2022.^[3] For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.^[4] A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as the appendix to this notice. 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. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/​public/​FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Scope of the Order

The products covered by the Order are ripe olives from Spain. For a complete description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.^[5]

Methodology

Commerce is conducting this administrative review in accordance with section 751(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For each of the subsidy programs found to be countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a subsidy ( i.e., a financial contribution by an “authority” that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific).^[6] For a full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, including our reliance, in part, on facts otherwise available pursuant to section 776(a) of the Act, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Rate for Non-Selected Companies Under Review

There are three companies for which a review was requested and not rescinded, and which were not selected as mandatory respondents or found to be cross-owned with a mandatory respondent. For these companies, because the rates calculated for the mandatory respondents, Agro Sevilla Aceitunas S.Coop. And. (Agro Sevilla) and Angel Camacho Alimentación, S.L. (Camacho), were above de minimis and not based entirely on facts available, we are applying to the non-selected companies the weighted average of the net subsidy rates calculated for Agro Sevilla and Camacho, which we calculated using the publicly-ranged sales data submitted by Agro Sevilla and Camacho.^[7] This methodology to establish the all-others subsidy rate is consistent with our practice and section 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act which governs the calculation of the all-others rate in an investigation. For further information on the calculation of the non-selected respondent rate, see the section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum entitled “Non-Selected Company Rate.”

Preliminary Results of Review

We preliminarily find the following net countervailable subsidy rates exist for the period January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020:

Producer/exporter	Subsidy rate (percent ad valorem)
Agro Sevilla Aceitunas S.Coop. And	8.32
Angel Camacho Alimentación, S.L. and its cross-owned affiliates 8	4.58
Review-Specific Average Rate Applicable to the Following Companies  9
Aceitunas Guadalquivir, S.L	6.68
Alimentary Group Dcoop S. Coop. And	6.68
Aceitunas Torrent, S.L	6.68

Verification

As provided in section 782(i)(3) of the Act, Commerce intends to verify the information relied upon in its final results of review.

Disclosure and Public Comment

We will disclose to parties in this review the calculations performed for these preliminary results within five days of the date of publication of this notice.^[10] A timeline for the submission of case and rebuttal briefs and written comments will be provided to interested parties at a later date.^[11] Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this review 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. All briefs must be filed electronically using ACCESS. Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary information, until further notice.^[12]

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 ACCESS by 5 p.m. eastern time within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list of the issues to be discussed. Oral presentations at the hearing will be limited to issues raised in the briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of the date and time for the hearing to be determined.

Unless extended, we intend to issue the final results of this administrative review, which will include the results of our analysis of the issues raised in the case briefs, no later than 120 days of publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register , pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).

Assessment Rates

In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), we preliminarily determined subsidy rates in the amounts shown above for the producer/exporters shown above. Upon completion of the administrative review, consistent with section 751(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b)(2), Commerce shall determine, and CBP shall assess, CVDs on all appropriate entries covered by this review. We intend 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).

Cash Deposit Requirements

In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, Commerce also intends upon publication of the final results, to instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of estimated CVDs in the amounts calculated in the final results of this review for the respective companies listed above with regard to shipments of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of the final results of this review. If the rate calculated in the final results is zero or de minimis, no cash deposit will be required on shipments of the subject merchandise entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of the final results of this review.

For all non-reviewed firms, CBP will continue to collect cash deposits of estimated CVDs at the all-others rate or the most recent company-specific rate applicable to the company, as appropriate. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Interested Parties

These preliminary results and notice are issued and published in accordance with sections 751(a) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

Dated: August 30, 2022.

Lisa W. Wang,

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. Non-Selected Company Rate

V. Subsidies Valuation Information

VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available

VII. Analysis of Programs

VIII. Recommendation

Footnotes

1.   See Ripe Olives from Spain: Amended Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Countervailing Duty Order,83 FR 37469 (August 1, 2018) ( Order).

2.   See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews,86 FR 55811 (October 7, 2021).

3.   See Memorandum, “Ripe Olives from Spain: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2020,” dated March 29, 2022.

4.   See Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of the 2020 Countervailing Duty Administrative Review of Ripe Olives from Spain,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).

5.   Id.

6.   See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.

7.  With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally calculates (A) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sale values 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., Ripe Olives from Spain: Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2019,48 FR 13970 (March 11, 2022).

8.  As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, Commerce found the following companies to be cross-owned with Angel Camacho Alimentación, S.L.: Grupo Angel Camacho, S.L., Cuarterola S.L., and Cucanoche S.L.

9.  This rate is based on the rates for the respondents that were selected for individual review, excluding rates that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts available. See section 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act.

10.   See19 CFR 351.224(b).

11.   See19 CFR 351.309(c) and (d).

12.   See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period,85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).