Argentine Beekeepers' Magazine

(Espacio Apícola - July 15, 2024) The International Trade Court of the United States issued a Modified Remand Order last June that forced the Department of Commerce to review and modify the anti-dumping sanctions originally imposed on Brazilian honeys imported into the United States.

The final determination of the investigation against dumping of honey imported into the United States from Argentina, Brazil, India and Vietnam was released in April 2022. Of the two Brazilian companies investigated, MELBRAS completed the investigation and received a tariff of 7.89%. The Department of Commerce sanctioned the other company, Supermel/Apiarios Diamante, in Adverse Facts Availables (AFA) for which it received the highest tariff, increased with a punitive rate, reaching 83.72% tax on the FOB value of the honey. For the rest of the companies, the percentage determined was the same as for MELBRAS, 7.89%, because the companies that were excluded due to the AFA sanction were excluded from the calculation.

Supermel would have filed a demand against the United States before the International Trade Court of that country, which is why, after analyzing the case, it issued an Amended Remand Order on June 5 based on of which the DOC accepted as credible the information timely presented by Supermel/Apiarios Diamante and withdrew the sanction by AFA, proposing a reduction of the tariff imposed to 10.52% on this company for the period of the initial investigation concluded in April 2022.

Due to this proposed modification to the tariffs determined in April 2022 for Brazilian honey, not yet enacted as it is subject to comments for a few days, the tax for other companies would go from 7.89% to 9.38%, which It is the average of the now two companies sanctioned in April 2022 (MELBRAS and Supermel/Apiarios Diamante). This means that the amounts of deposits made by Supermel/Apiarios Diamante honey buyers that exceed the 10.5% established by the current modification must be refunded; while buyers from other suppliers should deposit the additional 1.49%, which is the percentage by which the tariff was increased based on the new average determined.

It is worth clarifying that for the period of the first review, recently concluded, the preliminary percentages already published in the Federal Register (0% for Apis Nativa and 2.31% for Melbras and all the rest) up to this moment have not been challenged.