[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59542-59543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16692]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. WTO/DS-343]


WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding United States--
Antidumping Measures on Shrimp From Thailand

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative 
(``USTR'') is providing notice that on September 15, 2006, Thailand 
requested the establishment of a panel under the Marrakesh Agreement 
Establishing the World Trade Organization (``WTO Agreement''). That 
request may be found at http://www.wto.org contained in a document 
designated as WT/DS343/7. USTR invites written comments from the public 
concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

DATES: Although USTR will accept any comments received during the 
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be 
submitted on or before November 30, 2006 to be assured of timely 
consideration by USTR.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted (i) Electronically, to 
[email protected], Attn: ``Thailand Shrimp Zeroing/Bond Dispute 
(DS343)'' in the subject line, or (ii) by fax, to Sandy McKinzy at 
(202) 395-3640. For documents sent by fax, USTR requests that the 
submitter provide a confirmation copy to the electronic mail address 
listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elissa Alben, Assistant General 
Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395-9622.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 127(b) of the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act (``URAA'') (19 U.S.C. 3537(b)(1)) requires that notice 
and opportunity for comment be provided after the United States submits 
or receives a request for the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement 
panel. Consistent with this obligation, USTR is providing notice that a 
dispute settlement panel has been requested pursuant to the WTO 
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of 
Disputes (``DSU''). The panel will hold its meetings in Geneva, 
Switzerland.

Major Issues Raised by Thailand

    On August 4, 2004, the Department of Commerce published in the 
Federal Register notice of its affirmative preliminary less-than-fair-
value (``LTFV'') determination in an investigation concerning certain 
frozen and canned warm water shrimp from Thailand (69 FR 47,100). On 
December 23, 2004, the Department of Commerce published notice of its 
affirmative final LTFV determination (69 FR 76,918), and on February 1, 
2005, the Department of Commerce published an amended final LTFV 
determination, along with an antidumping duty order, covering only 
certain frozen warm water shrimp from Thailand (70 FR 5145). The latter 
notice contains the final margins of LTFV sales, as provided in section 
733 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.
    In its request for the establishment of a panel, Thailand alleges 
that the United States used ``the practice known as `zeroing' to 
calculate dumping margins for each investigated Thai exporter'' and 
that ``[t]he effect of the use of this practice was `artificially' to 
create margins of dumping where none would otherwise have been found 
or, at a minimum, to inflate margins of dumping and hence to impose 
inaccurate definitive antidumping measures on imports of shrimp from 
Thailand,'' in violation of Articles 2.4.2, 2.1, 2.4, and 9.3 of the AD 
Agreement. In addition, Thailand alleges that the United States has 
imposed on importers of shrimp from Thailand a requirement to maintain 
a continuous entry bond in the amount of the applicable anti-dumping 
duty margin multiplied by the value of imports of shrimp imported by 
the importer in the preceding year, and that the imposition of the 
continuous bond requirement on importers of shrimp from Thailand 
``constitutes specific action against dumping'' not in accordance with 
Article 18.1 of the AD Agreement. Thailand also states that the 
imposition of the continuous bond requirement on importers of shrimp 
from Thailand is inconsistent with GATT Article IV:2 and Note 1, 
paragraphs 2 and 3 to Ad Article VI of the GATT, as well as Articles 
7.2, 7.4, 7.5, 9.1, 9.2, and 9.3 of the AD Agreement, that it 
``constitutes a restriction on importation prohibited under Article 
XI:1'' or alternately is inconsistent with Article I:1 or Article 
II:1(a) and (b) of the GATT, and that by applying the continuous bond 
requirement to shrimp from Thailand and five other countries, the 
United States fails to administer its customs laws, regulations, and 
administrative rulings in a uniform, impartial, or reasonable manner, 
in violation of GATT Article X:3(a). Thailand also states that the 
continuous bond requirement is not justified under Article XX(d) of the 
GATT, in particular because it is not necessary to secure compliance 
with U.S. laws and regulations and has been applied in a manner 
constituting arbitrary and unjustifiable discrimination and a disguised 
restriction on international trade.

Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions

    Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning the issues raised in this dispute. Persons may submit their 
comments either (i) Electronically, to [email protected], Attn: 
``Thailand Shrimp Zeroing/Bond Dispute (DS343)'' in the subject line, 
or (ii) by fax to Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-3640. For documents sent 
by fax, USTR requests that the submitter provide a confirmation copy to 
the electronic mail address listed above.
    USTR encourages the submission of documents in Adobe PDF format, as 
attachments to an electronic mail. Interested persons who make 
submissions by electronic mail should not provide separate cover 
letters; information that might appear in a cover letter should be 
included in the submission itself. Similarly, to the extent possible, 
any attachments to the submission should be included in the same file 
as the submission itself, and not as separate files.
    A person requesting that information contained in a comment 
submitted by that person be treated as confidential business 
information must certify that such information is business confidential 
and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter. 
Confidential business information must be clearly designated as such 
and the submission must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top 
and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page.
    Information or advice contained in a comment submitted, other than 
business confidential information, may be determined by USTR to be 
confidential in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C.

[[Page 59543]]

2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that information or advice may 
qualify as such, the submitter--
    (1) Must clearly so designate the information or advice;
    (2) Must clearly mark the material as ``SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE'' 
at the top and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page; and
    (3) Is encouraged to provide a non-confidential summary of the 
information or advice.
    Pursuant to section 127(e) of the URAA (19 U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR 
will maintain a file on this dispute settlement proceeding, accessible 
to the public, in the USTR Reading Room, which is located at 1724 F 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508. The public file will include non-
confidential comments received by USTR from the public with respect to 
the dispute; if a dispute settlement panel is convened or in the event 
of an appeal from such a panel, the U.S. submissions, the submissions, 
or non-confidential summaries of submissions, received from other 
participants in the dispute; the report of the panel and, if 
applicable, the report of the Appellate Body. An appointment to review 
the public file (Docket No. WT/DS-343, Thailand Shrimp Zeroing/Bond 
Dispute) may be made by calling the USTR Reading Room at (202) 395-
6186. The USTR Reading Room is open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 
noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Daniel E. Brinza,
Assistant United States Trade Representative, for Monitoring and 
Enforcement.
 [FR Doc. E6-16692 Filed 10-6-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W7-P