The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on December 19, 2014 that it had finalized agreements with the Government of Mexico and Mexican sugar exporters to suspend antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations on imports of sugar. Commerce initiated the investigations in April 2014 in response to U.S. industry petitions for relief from injuriously dumped and subsidized imports of sugar from Mexico.
The agreements immediately suspend both the AD and CVD investigations, allow Mexican sugar to enter the U.S. market free of antidumping or countervailing duties, and create mechanisms to ensure that imports of Mexican sugar do not injure the U.S. sugar industry while enabling U.S. sugar consumption needs to be met.
The finalized agreements incorporate several changes from the draft suspension agreements that Commerce initialed on October 27. The changes, which include a revised definition of refined sugar and adjustments to the reference price, reflect comments that were submitted by interested parties in response to the Department’s request for public comment on the draft agreements.
The agreements will also prevent imports from being concentrated during certain times of the year, limit the amount of refined sugar that may enter the U.S. market, and establish minimum price mechanisms to guard against undercutting or suppression of U.S. prices.
