Commerce Extends Deadline for Sugar Talks With Mexico Another Day
The Commerce Department is extending by 24 hours a midnight deadline for concluding an agreement with Mexico to avoid the resumption of antidumping and countervailing duties on Mexican sugar, the department announced (here). “The two sides have come together in quite meaningful ways, but there remain a few technical details to work out,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement. “We are quite optimistic that our two nations are on the precipice of an agreement we can all support, and so have decided that a short extension of the deadline is in everyone’s best interest.” Duties have been suspended since Dec. 29, 2014, after Commerce and the Mexican government signed an agreement (see 1412240020). Imports of Mexican sugar are currently subject to minimum prices and maximum export quantities. Commerce said in May letters to the Mexican government that it would assess duties on sugar if no deal were reached by June 5.
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Commerce set AD duty rates ranging from 24.28% to 42.14%, and CV duty rates ranging from 5.78% to 43.93%, in the final determinations it issued in September 2015 (see 1509170057); and the International Trade Commission in October 2015 voted that the imports injure U.S. industry (see 1510210015). The duties never took effect, though, as the suspension agreement has remained in place since 2014.