Powdered Sugar Imports Not Subject to AD/CVD on Sugar From Mexico
Powdered sugar processed and packaged in Mexico using U.S.-origin refined sugar imported by Batory Foods and Rafi Industries is not subject to the agreements suspending antidumping and countervailing duties on sugar from Mexico (A-201-845/C-201-846), the Commerce Department announced in a Feb. 28 scope ruling. The department also recommended imposing a certification requirement for the imported sugar.
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The department said the petitioners and respondents concurred that "powdered sugar processed and packaged in Mexico using solely U.S. origin refined sugar is not covered by the scope of the agreements." However, they expressed concern about the possibility of evasion of the AD/CVD orders "in the absence of a monitoring mechanism." Batory and Rafi didn't object to the implementation of a monitoring system, noting that "their internal origin tracking processes mean that their product does not pose evasion concerns."
Batory's and Rafi's sugar is "powdered sugar containing 96-98% refined sugar by dry weight." While the orders cover this kind of sugar, an exclusion exists for "sugar products produced in Mexico that contain 95 percent or more sugar by dry weight that originated outside of Mexico." As the subject sugar originates from the U.S., it "is excluded from the scope of the AD and CVD Agreements," Commerce said.