[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 167 (Monday, August 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52860-52862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1974]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

(A-351-838)


Notice of Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value: Certain Frozen and Canned Warmwater Shrimp from Brazil

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: August 30, 2004).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate Johnson or Rebecca Trainor, 
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4929 or (202) 482-4007, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 52861]]

Significant Ministerial Error

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.224(g)(1) and (g)(2), the Department of 
Commerce (the Department) is amending the preliminary determination of 
sales at less than fair value in the antidumping duty investigation of 
certain frozen and canned warmwater shrimp from Brazil to reflect the 
correction of significant ministerial errors it made in the margin 
calculations regarding Empresa de Armazenagem Frigorifica Ltda. (EMPAF) 
and All Others. A ministerial error is defined as an error in addition, 
subtraction, or other arithmetic function, clerical error resulting 
from inaccurate copying, duplication, or the like, and any other 
similar type of unintentional error which the Secretary considers 
ministerial. See 19 CFR 351.224(f). A significant ministerial error is 
defined as an error, the correction of which, singly or in combination 
with other errors, would result in (1) a change of at least five 
absolute percentage points in, but not less than 25 percent of, the 
weighted-average dumping margin calculated in the original (erroneous) 
preliminary determination; or (2) a difference between a weighted-
average dumping margin of zero or de minimis and a weighted-average 
dumping margin of greater than de minimis, or vice versa. See 19 CFR 
351.224(g). We are publishing this amendment to the preliminary 
determination pursuant to 19 CFR 351.224(e). As a result of this 
amended preliminary determination, we have revised the antidumping 
rates for EMPAF and All Others. See discussion below.

Ministerial Error Allegations

    On July 28, 2004, the Department published its affirmative 
preliminarily determination in this proceeding. See Notice of 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Postponement of Final Determination: Certain Frozen and Canned 
Warmwater Shrimp from Brazil, 69 FR 47081 (August 4, 2004) (Preliminary 
Determination).
    On July 29, 2004, we disclosed our calculations for the preliminary 
determination to counsel for EMPAF, Central de Industrializacao e 
Distribuicao de Alimentos Ltda (CIDA), and Norte Pesca S.A. (Norte 
Pesca). On August 2, 2004, we disclosed our calculations for the 
preliminary determination to counsel for petitioners (i.e., Ad Hoc 
Shrimp Trade Action Committee, Versaggi Shrimp Corporation, and Indian 
Ridge Shrimp Company).
    On August 3, 2004, CIDA and on August 4 and 11, 2004, Norte Pesca 
alleged that the Department made ministerial errors in calculating 
their respective margin for the preliminary determination. On August 3, 
2004, the Brazilian Shrimp Farmers' Association (ABCC) alleged a 
ministerial error with respect to the Department's preliminary 
calculation of the All Others rate. On August 9, 2004, the petitioners 
filed ministerial error allegations regarding the preliminary margin 
calculation for EMPAF. Also, on August 9, 2004, the petitioners filed a 
reply to the respondents' and ABCC's ministerial error allegation 
submissions filed on August 3 and 4, 2004, but these comments were not 
considered by the Department in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(c)(3).
    The alleged ministerial errors are as follows. Also see Memorandum 
to Louis Apple and Neal M. Halper from The Team, dated August 20, 2004, 
for further discussion of the ministerial error allegations and the 
Department's analysis.

Norte Pesca

1. The Department inappropriately applied an adverse facts available 
adjustment to the reported material costs.
2. The Department erroneously included the profit and indirect selling 
expenses of EMPAF in the calculation of constructed value for Norte 
Pesca.
3. The Department disallowed certain credits received for taxes 
previously paid, and as a result, costs related to non-subject 
merchandise were erroneously and inadvertently treated as Norte Pesca's 
shrimp costs.
4. The Department failed to use Norte Pesca's most recently submitted 
database.
5. The Department inadvertently included broken shrimp in the dumping 
margin calculation of Norte Pesca, while excluding broken shrimp from 
the dumping margin calculation of CIDA.

CIDA

1. The Department mistakenly merged CIDA's cost and sales databases 
using the wrong control number variables.

ABCC

1. The Department incorrectly used Norte Pesca's dumping margin in the 
All Others rate calculation.

Petitioners

1. The Department made a programming error in EMPAF's preliminary 
margin program by incorrectly including an additional packing variable.
2. The Department made a programming error in the assignment of count 
size codes to EMPAF's sales of head-on shrimp.
    The Department has reviewed its preliminary calculations and agrees 
that certain of the errors which the parties alleged are ministerial 
errors within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.224(f). After analyzing the 
submissions cited above, we have determined that ministerial errors 
were made in the preliminary determination margin calculation for 
EMPAF. Specifically, (1) we inadvertently included an additional 
packing variable in the margin program thereby preventing the correct 
assignment of values to a certain other variables; and (2) we 
inadvertently failed to convert the reported count sizes for EMPAF's 
head-on shrimp sales from a per-kilogram to a per-pound basis before 
assigning the appropriate per-pound count size codes specified in the 
Department's questionnaire. See Memorandum to Louis Apple and Neal M. 
Halper from The Team, dated August 20, 2004, for further discussion of 
the petitioners' ministerial error allegations and the Department's 
analysis. All of the other alleged errors described above with respect 
to the preliminary margin calculations for Norte Pesca, CIDA and All 
Others are not ministerial errors, as defined by 19 CFR 351.422(f), and 
therefore, no correction is warranted with regard to these items.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.224(g), the ministerial errors acknowledged 
above for EMPAF are significant. Therefore, we have recalculated the 
margin for EMPAF. The Department hereby amends its preliminary 
determination with respect to EMPAF to correct these errors. We have 
also amended the All Others rate calculation to reflect these 
corrections.
    The collection of bonds or cash deposits and suspension of 
liquidation will be revised accordingly and parties will be notified of 
this determination, in accordance with section 733(d) and (f) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).

Amended Preliminary Determination

    As a result of our correction of ministerial errors in the 
Preliminary Determination, the revised weighted-average dumping margins 
are as follows:

[[Page 52862]]



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                                                        Original Weighted-Average     Amended Weighted-Average
                Exporter/Manufacturer                       Margin Percentage             Margin Percentage
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Empresa de Armazenagem Frigorifica Ltda./Maricultura                          0.00                         12.86
 Netuno S.A.........................................
All Others..........................................                         36.91                         23.66
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the 
International Trade Commission (``ITC'') of the amended preliminary 
determination. If our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of the 
preliminary determination or 45 days after our final determination 
whether the domestic industry in the United States is materially 
injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of imports, or 
sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation, of the subject 
merchandise.
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(e).

    Dated: August 23, 2004.
James J. Jochum,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E4-1974 Filed 8-25-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S