India Organic Soybean Meal: New AD/CVD Investigations Deadlines & Scope

The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on organic soybean meal from India (A-533-901/C-533-902). The agency will determine whether imports of Indian organic soybean meal are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value or are illegally subsidized. Both the AD and CV duty investigations cover entries Jan. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2020.

The International Trade Commission will conduct a concurrent investigation to determine whether imports of dumped and illegally subsidized organic soybean meal from India are injuring U.S. industry. If the ITC finds no injury in its preliminary injury determination, due May 17, the investigations will immediately end. If Commerce finds dumping or illegal subsidization in the preliminary determinations of these investigations, due in June for CV duties and September for AD duties, it will set AD and/or CV duty cash deposit requirements for imports of merchandise subject to the investigation. If both Commerce and the ITC reach affirmative final determinations, Commerce will issue an AD and/or CV duty order making duties permanent and beginning a process of annual administrative reviews to set final assessments of AD/CV duties on importers and potentially change AD/CV duty cash deposit rates.

AD/CVD Respondent Selection

Commerce will base respondent selection in these AD/CV duty investigations on quantity and value questionnaires to each potential respondent. Indian exporters that don't get a quantity and value questionnaire can still submit one by obtaining the antidumping and countervailing duty questionnaires from Commerce's website. Responses are due May 5.

Scope of the AD/CVD Investigations

The merchandise subject to the investigation is certified organic soybean meal. Certified organic soybean meal results from the mechanical pressing of certified organic soybeans into ground products known as soybean cake, soybean chips, or soybean flakes, with or without oil residues. Soybean cake is the product after the extraction of part of the oil from soybeans. Soybean chips and soybean flakes are produced by cracking, heating and flaking soybeans and reducing the oil content of the conditioned product. “Certified organic soybean meal” is certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) or equivalently certified to NOP standards or NOP-equivalent standards under an existing organic equivalency or recognition agreement.

Certified organic soybean meal subject to this investigation has a protein content of 34 percent or higher.

Organic soybean meal that is otherwise subject to this investigation is included when incorporated in admixtures, including but not limited to prepared animal feeds. Only the organic soybean meal component of such admixture is covered by the scope of this investigation.

The products covered by this investigation are currently classified under the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings: 1208.10.0010 and 2304.00.0000. Certified organic soybean meal may also enter under HTSUS 2309.90.1005, 2309.90.1015, 2309.90.1010, 2309.90.1030, 2309.90.1032, 2309.90.1035, 2309.90.1045, 2309.90.1050 and 2308.00.9890.

The HTSUS subheadings and specifications are provided for convenience and customs purposes; the written description of the scope is dispositive.

Participants in the AD/CVD investigations may submit comments on product coverage under the scope of the investigations. Comments on the scope are due by May 10.

Investigations Timetable

These deadlines may, and usually are, extended. The Commerce Department fact sheet on the initiation of these investigations is (here). See (Ref:[2104060044]) for a summary of the petition requesting these investigations.