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Full text as published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection
1.
On 06/18/2018, Commerce published in the Federal Register (83 FR 28193) its final affirmative determination of sales at less-than-fair-value in the antidumping duty investigation of ripe olives from Spain (A-470-817).
2.
The products covered by this investigation are certain processed olives, usually referred to as “ripe olives.”
The subject merchandise includes all colors of olives; all shapes and sizes of olives, whether pitted or not pitted, and whether whole, sliced, chopped, minced, wedged, broken, or otherwise reduced in size; all types of packaging, whether for consumer (retail) or institutional (food service) sale, and whether canned or packaged in glass, metal, plastic, multilayered airtight containers (including pouches), or otherwise; and all manners of preparation and preservation, whether low acid or acidified, stuffed or not stuffed, with or without flavoring and/or saline solution, and including in ambient, refrigerated, or frozen conditions.
Included are all ripe olives grown, processed in whole or in part, or packaged in Spain. Subject merchandise includes ripe olives that have been further processed in Spain or a third country, including but not limited to curing, fermenting, rinsing, oxidizing, pitting, slicing, chopping, segmenting, wedging, stuffing, packaging, or heat treating, or any other processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in Spain.
Subject merchandise includes ripe olives that otherwise meet the definition above that are packaged together with non-subject products, where the smallest individual packaging unit (e.g., can, pouch, jar, etc.) of any such product – regardless of whether the smallest unit of packaging is included in a larger packaging unit (e.g., display case, etc.) – contains a majority (i.e., more than 50 percent) of ripe olives by net drained weight. The scope does not include the non-subject components of such product.
Excluded from the scope are: (1) Specialty olives {SEE FOOTNOTE 1} (including “Spanish-style,” “Sicilian-style,” and other similar olives) that have been processed by fermentation only, or by being cured in an alkaline solution for not longer than 12 hours and subsequently fermented; and (2) provisionally prepared olives unsuitable for immediate consumption (currently classifiable in subheading 0711.20 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)).
The merchandise subject to this investigation is currently classifiable under subheadings 2005.70.0230, 2005.70.0260, 2005.70.0430, 2005.70.0460, 2005.70.5030, 2005.70.5060, 2005.70.6020, 2005.70.6030, 2005.70.6050, 2005.70.6060, 2005.70.6070, 2005.70.7000, 2005.70.7510, 2005.70.7515, 2005.70.7520, and 2005.70.7525 HTSUS.
Subject merchandise may also be imported under subheadings 2005.70.0600, 2005.70.0800, 2005.70.1200, 2005.70.1600, 2005.70.1800, 2005.70.2300, 2005.70.2510, 2005.70.2520, 2005.70.2530, 2005.70.2540, 2005.70.2550, 2005.70.2560, 2005.70.9100, 2005.70.9300, and 2005.70.9700.
Although HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and US Customs purposes, they do not define the scope of the investigation; rather, the written description of the subject merchandise is dispositive.
FOOTNOTE 1: Some of the major types of specialty olives and their curing methods are:
• “Spanish-style” green olives: Spanish-style green olives have a mildly salty, slightly bitter taste, and are usually pitted and stuffed. This style of olive is primarily produced in Spain and can be made from various olive varieties. Most are stuffed with pimento; other popular stuffings are jalapeno, garlic, and cheese. The raw olives that are used to produce Spanish-style green olives are picked while they are unripe, after which they are submerged in an alkaline solution for typically less than a day to partially remove their bitterness, rinsed, and fermented in a strong salt brine, giving them their characteristic flavor.
• “Sicilian-style” green olives:
Sicilian-style olives are large, firm green olives with a natural bitter and savory flavor. This style of olive is produced in small quantities in the United States using a Sevillano variety of olive and harvested green with a firm texture.
Sicilian-style olives are processed using a brine-cured method, and undergo a full fermentation in a salt and lactic acid brine for 4 to 9 months. These olives may be sold whole unpitted, pitted, or stuffed.
• “Kalamata” olives: Kalamata olives are slightly curved in shape, tender in texture, and purple in color, and have a rich natural tangy and savory flavor. This style of olive is produced in Greece using a Kalamata variety olive. The olives are harvested after they are fully ripened on the tree, and typically use a brine-cured fermentation method over 4 to 9 months in a salt brine.
• Other specialty olives in a full range of colors, sizes, and origins, typically fermented in a salt brine for 3 months or more.
3.
This proceeding has been assigned case number A-469-817 for Commerce purposes and case number A-470-817 for CBP purposes.
4.
For imports of ripe olives form Spain, CBP shall continue to suspend liquidation of such shipments entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 01/26/2018 (date suspension first started).
Effective 06/18/2018, CBP shall require, for such entries, a cash deposit equal to the margins for the producers and/or exporters listed below:
All Others
Case Number: A-470-817-000
Cash Deposit Rate: 20.04%
Producer and/or Exporter:
Aceitunas Guadalquivir S.L.
Case number: A-470-817-001
Cash deposit rate: 17.46 %
Producer and/or Exporter:
Agro Sevilla Aceitunas S.COOP Andalusia
Case number: A-470-817-002
Cash deposit rate: 25.50%
Producer and/or Exporter:
Angel Camacho Alimentacion S.L.
Case number: A-470-817-003
Cash deposit rate: 16.88%
5.
If any entries of this merchandise are exported by a firm other than the producer, then the following instructions apply:
A.
If the exporter of the subject merchandise does not have its own rate but the producer has its own rate, the cash deposit will be the producer's rate.
B.
Where neither the exporter nor the producer currently has its own rate or the producer is unknown, use the all-others rate of 20.04 percent to establish the cash deposit.
6.
If there are any questions by the importing public regarding this message, please contact the Call Center for the Office of AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce at (202) 482-0984.
CBP ports should submit their inquiries through authorized CBP channels only.
(This message was generated by OI:CC.)
7.
There are no restrictions on the release of this information.
Alexander Amdur