New U.S. antidumping (“AD”) duty petitions were filed on Dec. 29, 2021, by Ventura Coastal, LLC against imports of lemon juice from Brazil and South Africa.
The merchandise covered by these petitions consists of certain lemon juice for further manufacture, with or without the addition of preservatives, sugar, or other sweeteners, regardless of the GPL (grams per liter of citric acid) level of concentration, brix level, brix/acid ratio, pulp content, clarity, grade, horticulture method (e.g., organic or not), processed form (e.g., frozen or not-from-concentrate), FDA standard of identity (as defined under 19 C.F.R. § 146.114 et seq.), the size of the container in which packed, or the method of packing. Please see the scope section below for a full review of the proposed subject merchandise. The scope is substantively identical to that of the 2016 Suspension Agreement for lemon juice from Argentina.
The petition includes AD (less than fair value) allegations against Brazil and South Africa. The Department of Commerce (“DOC”) and the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) will conduct the investigations. Within the next 45 days, the ITC will determine if there is a reasonable indication that the imports are injuring the U.S. industry. If the ITC finds that standard is met, then the cases will move to the DOC which will calculate the preliminary AD duty margins.
The DOC’s preliminary determinations are currently scheduled for June 7, 2022, which is the date when importers will be required to deposit the calculated duties upon the products’ entry into the U.S. market.
There are strict statutory deadlines associated with these proceedings and affected companies are advised to prepare as soon as possible. If this product is of interest to you, please let us know so that we can provide you with additional information as it becomes available.
The following are key facts about this trade case:
Petitioners: Ventura Coastal, LLC
Foreign Producers/Exporters and US Importers: Please contact us for a listing of individual companies named in the petition.
AD margins: Petitioners have alleged the following AD margins:
- Brazil: a calculated dumping margin of 555.22%, ad valorem; and
- South Africa: a calculated AD margin of 128.61%, ad valorem.
Merchandise covered by the scope of the case:
The product covered by this investigation is certain lemon juice for further manufacture, with or without the addition of preservatives, sugar, or other sweeteners, regardless of the GPL (grams per liter of citric acid) level of concentration, brix level, brix/acid ratio, pulp content, clarity, grade, horticulture method (e.g., organic or not), processed form (e.g., frozen or not-from-concentrate), FDA standard of identity (as defined under 19 C.F.R. § 146.114 et seq.), the size of the container in which packed, or the method of packing.
Excluded from the scope are: (1) Lemon juice at any level of concentration packed in retail-sized containers ready for sale to consumers, typically at a level of concentration of 48 GPL; and (2) beverage products such as lemonade that typically contain 20% or less lemon juice as an ingredient.
The scope also includes lemon juice that is blended with lemon juice from sources not subject to this investigation. Only the subject component of such blended merchandise is covered by the scope of this investigation. Blended lemon juice is defined as two or more distinct lemon juice products with differing country(s) of origin mixed together to form a singular lemon juice product where the component parts are no longer individually distinguishable.
The products subject to this investigation orders are currently classifiable under subheadings 2009.31.4000, 2009.31.6020, 2009.31.6040, 2009.39.6020, and 2009.39.6040 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of these investigations is dispositive.
