New entrants starting production, reopening, or acquiring an existing factory with production history
(i)
Definition of new entrant
(I)
In general
In this subparagraph, the term “new entrant” means an individual, corporation, or other entity that—
(aa)
does not have an allocation of the beet sugar allotment under this subpart;
(bb)
is not affiliated with any other individual, corporation, or entity that has an allocation of beet sugar under this subpart (referred to in this clause as a “third party”); and
(cc)
will process sugar beets produced by sugar beet growers under contract with the new entrant for the production of sugar at the new or re-opened factory that is the basis for the new entrant allocation.
(II)
Affiliation
For purposes of subclause (I)(bb), a new entrant and a third party shall be considered to be affiliated if—
(aa)
the third party has an ownership interest in the new entrant;
(bb)
the new entrant and the third party have owners in common;
(cc)
the third party has the ability to exercise control over the new entrant by organizational rights, contractual rights, or any other means;
(dd)
the third party has a contractual relationship with the new entrant by which the new entrant will make use of the facilities or assets of the third party; or
(ee)
there are any other similar circumstances by which the Secretary determines that the new entrant and the third party are affiliated.
(ii)
Allocation for a new entrant that has constructed a new factory or reopened a factory that was not operated since before 1998
If a new entrant constructs a new sugar beet processing factory, or acquires and reopens a sugar beet processing factory that last processed sugar beets prior to the 1998 crop year and there is no allocation currently associated with the factory, the Secretary shall—
(I)
assign an allocation for beet sugar to the new entrant that provides a fair and equitable distribution of the allocations for beet sugar so as to enable the new entrant to achieve a factory utilization rate comparable to the factory utilization rates of other similarly-situated processors; and
(II)
reduce the allocations for beet sugar of all other processors on a pro rata basis to reflect the allocation to the new entrant.