New Trade Case on Imports of Dried Tart Cherries from the Republic of Turkey

New U.S. antidumping (“AD”) and countervailing (“CVD”) duty investigations were filed on April 23, 2019 by the Dried Tart Cherry Trade Committee (“Petitioner”) against imports of dried tart cherries from the Republic of Turkey.

The merchandise subject to these investigations consists of dried tart cherries, which may also be referred to as dried sour cherries or dried red tart cherries. Dried tart cherries may be processed from any variety of tart cherries. Tart cherries are generally classified as Prunus cerasus. Types of tart cherries include, but are not limited to, Amarelle, Kutahya, Lutowka, Montmorency, Morello, and Oblacinska. Dried tart cherries are covered by the scope of this investigation regardless of the horticulture method through which the cherries were produced (e.g., organic or not). The full scope of the merchandise covered is set forth below.

The petition includes AD (less than fair value) and CVD (unfair subsidy) allegations against the Republic of Turkey. 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 the imports are injuring the U.S. industry. If the ITC finds injury, then the case will move to the DOC which will calculate the preliminary AD and CVD duty margins. The DOC’s preliminary determinations are currently scheduled for July 17, 2019 (CVD) and September 30, 2019 (AD), which are the dates when importers will be charged the calculated duties upon the products’ entry in 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:

Petitioner: The Dried Tart Cherry Trade Committee. The trade association is comprised of five U.S. dried tart cherries producers: Cherry Central Cooperative, Graceland Fruit, Inc., Payson Fruit Growers Coop, Shoreline Fruit, LLC, and Smeltzer Orchard Co.

Foreign Producers/Exporters and US Importers: Please contact us for a listing of individual companies named in the petition.

Alleged AD and CVD margins: Petitioner has alleged the following AD margins:

• Republic of Turkey –  AD margins of 628.90%.

The petition has also alleged CVD margins for China above de minimis.

Merchandise covered by the scope of the case:

The merchandise covered by this investigation includes dried tart cherries, regardless of whether they contain any added sugar or other sweetening matter, whether or not they are coated in oil or rice flour, whether infused or not infused, and regardless of the infusion ingredients, including sugar, sucrose, fruit juice, and any other infusion ingredients. The subject merchandise covers all shapes, sizes, and colors of dried tart cherries, whether pitted or unpitted, and whether whole, chopped, minced, crumbled, in granules, broken, or otherwise reduced in size. The scope covers dried tart cherries in all types of packaging, regardless of the size or packaging material.

Included in the scope of these investigations are dried tart cherries that otherwise meet the definition above that are packaged with non-subject products, including, but not limited to, mixtures of dried fruits and mixtures of dried fruits and nuts. Only the dried tart cherry components of such products are covered by these investigations; the scope does not include the non-subject components of such products.

Included in the scope of these investigations are all dried tart cherries produced in

Turkey, including dried tart cherries that have been further processed in a third country, including but not limited to processing by sweetening, coating, chopping, mincing, crumbling, packaging with non-subject products, or other packaging, or any other processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in Turkey.

Excluded from the scope of these investigations, are finished bakery and confectionery items (cakes, cookies, candy, etc.) that incorporate dried tart cherries as an ingredient.

The subject merchandise is currently classifiable under 0813.40.3000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The subject merchandise may also enter under subheadings 0813.40.9000, 0813.50.0020, 0813.50.0060, 2006.00.2000, and 2008.60.0060. The HTSUS subheadings set forth above are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes only. The written description of the scope is dispositive.

While the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of these investigations is dispositive.

If you have any questions regarding the content of this alert, please contact Mark Ludwikowski (mludwikowski@clarkhill.comkwilliams@clarkhill.com