[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 13, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52452-52454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-24536]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-549-822]


Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From Thailand: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review and Notice of Revocation 
in Part

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

DATES: Effective Date: October 13, 2009.

SUMMARY: On August 5, 2009, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
published a notice of preliminary results of changed circumstances 
review of the antidumping duty order on frozen warmwater shrimp 
(shrimp) from Thailand. In that notice, we preliminarily determined 
that it was appropriate to treat the Rubicon Group inclusive of 
Phatthana Frozen Food Co., Ltd. (PFF) and Sea Wealth Frozen Food Co., 
Ltd. (Sea Wealth) as the successor-in-interest to the Rubicon Group as 
it operated during the period of investigation (POI) of the less-than-
fair-value (LTFV) investigation. Further, we preliminarily determined 
that it was appropriate to revoke PFF and Sea Wealth from the 
antidumping duty order on shrimp from Thailand, effective as of January 
16, 2009. See Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From Thailand: 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review 
and Notice of Intent to Revoke in Part, 74 FR 39042 (Aug. 5, 2009) 
(Preliminary Results). For these final results the Department continues 
to find that the current form of the Rubicon Group, inclusive of PFF 
and Sea Wealth, is the successor-in-interest to the Rubicon Group as it 
operated during the LTFV investigation. Accordingly, we are revoking 
PFF and Sea Wealth from the antidumping duty

[[Page 52453]]

order on shrimp from Thailand, effective as of January 16, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Henry Almond; AD/CVD Operations, 
Office 2, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0049.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On February 1, 2005, the Department published in the Federal 
Register an antidumping duty order on certain frozen warmwater shrimp 
from Thailand. See Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Frozen 
Warmwater Shrimp From Thailand, 70 FR 5145 (Feb. 1, 2005) (Thai Shrimp 
Order).
    Subsequent to the issuance of this order, the Thai Government 
challenged before the World Trade Organization (WTO) the Department's 
practice of not offsetting dumped sales with non-dumped sales in the 
LTFV investigation of shrimp from Thailand. In February 2008, the WTO 
dispute settlement panel found that the Department acted inconsistently 
with its international obligations when it performed average-to-average 
comparisons without providing offsets for comparisons where the export 
price was greater than normal value in the LTFV investigation. See 
United States--Measures Relating to Shrimp from Thailand, WT/DS343/R 
(February 29, 2008).
    In November 2008, the Department initiated a section 129 proceeding 
to implement the findings of the WTO panel, and in January 2009 it 
issued a final determination in that proceeding which resulted in the 
revocation of the order related to shrimp produced and exported by two 
entities--Thai I-Mei and the Rubicon Group. See Implementation of the 
Findings of the WTO Panel in United States--Antidumping Measure on 
Shrimp From Thailand: Notice of Determination Under section 129 of the 
Uruguay Round Agreements Act and Partial Revocation of the Antidumping 
Duty Order on Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From Thailand, 74 FR 5638, 5638 
(Jan. 30, 2009) (Section 129 Implementation). For purposes of the 
section 129 Implementation, the Department defined the Rubicon Group as 
consisting of the following nine companies, which were the group 
members existing at the time of the LTFV investigation: Andaman Seafood 
Co., Ltd., Chanthaburi Frozen Food Co., Ltd., Chanthaburi Seafoods Co., 
Ltd., Intersia Foods Co., Ltd., Phatthana Seafood Co., Ltd., S.C.C. 
Frozen Seafood Co., Ltd., Thailand Fishery Cold Storage Public Co., 
Ltd., Thai International Seafoods Co., Ltd., and Wales & Co. Universe 
Limited. See section 129 Implementation at 5639.
    On February 5, 2009, the Rubicon Group requested that the 
Department conduct an expedited changed circumstances review under 19 
CFR 351.221(c)(3)(iii) to consider also revoking PFF and Sea Wealth 
from the Thai Shrimp Order. According to the Rubicon Group, although 
these two companies were not included in the Department's margin 
calculations in the LTFV investigation, the Department has treated them 
as part of the Rubicon Group in subsequent segments of this proceeding. 
In this request, the Rubicon Group also asked that any revocation for 
PFF and Sea Wealth be made effective January 16, 2009, the effective 
date of the section 129 Implementation.
    On March 24, 2009, the Department published a notice of initiation 
of a changed circumstances review to consider the Rubicon Group's 
request. See Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Thailand: Initiation 
of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 74 FR 12308 (Mar. 24, 
2009) (Initiation Notice).
    On August 5, 2009, the Department published the preliminary results 
of the changed circumstances review, where we preliminarily determined 
that it was appropriate to treat the Rubicon Group inclusive of PFF and 
Sea Wealth as the successor-in-interest to the Rubicon Group as it 
operated during LTFV investigation. Further, we preliminarily 
determined that it was appropriate to revoke PFF and Sea Wealth from 
the antidumping duty order on shrimp from Thailand. See Preliminary 
Results at 39044. Subsequent to the Preliminary Results we received no 
comments from interested parties.

Scope of the Order

    The scope of this order includes certain frozen warmwater shrimp 
and prawns, whether wild-caught (ocean harvested) or farm-raised 
(produced by aquaculture), head-on or head-off, shell-on or peeled, 
tail-on or tail-off,\1\ deveined or not deveined, cooked or raw, or 
otherwise processed in frozen form.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ ``Tails'' in this context means the tail fan, which includes 
the telson and the uropods.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The frozen warmwater shrimp and prawn products included in the 
scope of this order, regardless of definitions in the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), are products which are processed 
from warmwater shrimp and prawns through freezing and which are sold in 
any count size. The products described above may be processed from any 
species of warmwater shrimp and prawns. Warmwater shrimp and prawns are 
generally classified in, but are not limited to, the Penaeidae family. 
Some examples of the farmed and wild-caught warmwater species include, 
but are not limited to, whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannemei), banana 
prawn (Penaeus merguiensis), fleshy prawn (Penaeus chinensis), giant 
river prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii), giant tiger prawn (Penaeus 
monodon), redspotted shrimp (Penaeus brasiliensis), southern brown 
shrimp (Penaeus subtilis), southern pink shrimp (Penaeus notialis), 
southern rough shrimp (Trachypenaeus curvirostris), southern white 
shrimp (Penaeus schmitti), blue shrimp (Penaeus stylirostris), western 
white shrimp (Penaeus occidentalis), and Indian white prawn (Penaeus 
indicus).
    Frozen shrimp and prawns that are packed with marinade, spices or 
sauce are included in the scope of this order. In addition, food 
preparations, which are not ``prepared meals,'' that contain more than 
20 percent by weight of shrimp or prawn are also included in the scope 
of this order.
    Excluded from the scope are: (1) Breaded shrimp and prawns (HTSUS 
subheading 1605.20.10.20); (2) shrimp and prawns generally classified 
in the Pandalidae family and commonly referred to as coldwater shrimp, 
in any state of processing; (3) fresh shrimp and prawns whether shell-
on or peeled (HTSUS subheadings 0306.23.00.20 and 0306.23.00.40); (4) 
shrimp and prawns in prepared meals (HTSUS subheading 1605.20.05.10); 
(5) dried shrimp and prawns; (6) canned warmwater shrimp and prawns 
(HTSUS subheading 1605.20.10.40); (7) certain dusted shrimp; and (8) 
certain battered shrimp. Dusted shrimp is a shrimp-based product: (1) 
That is produced from fresh (or thawed-from-frozen) and peeled shrimp; 
(2) to which a ``dusting'' layer of rice or wheat flour of at least 95 
percent purity has been applied; (3) with the entire surface of the 
shrimp flesh thoroughly and evenly coated with the flour; (4) with the 
non-shrimp content of the end product constituting between four and 10 
percent of the product's total weight after being dusted, but prior to 
being frozen; and (5) that is subjected to IQF freezing immediately 
after application of the dusting layer. Battered shrimp is a shrimp-
based product that, when dusted

[[Page 52454]]

in accordance with the definition of dusting above, is coated with a 
wet viscous layer containing egg and/or milk, and par-fried.
    The products covered by this order are currently classified under 
the following HTSUS subheadings: 0306.13.00.03, 0306.13.00.06, 
0306.13.00.09, 0306.13.00.12, 0306.13.00.15, 0306.13.00.18, 
0306.13.00.21, 0306.13.00.24, 0306.13.00.27, 0306.13.00.40, 
1605.20.10.10, and 1605.20.10.30. These HTSUS subheadings are provided 
for convenience and for customs purposes only and are not dispositive, 
but rather the written description of the scope of this order is 
dispositive.

Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review

    For the reasons stated in the preliminary results, the Department 
continues to find that the Rubicon Group in its current form, including 
PFF and Sea Wealth, is the successor-in-interest to the Rubicon Group 
as it existed during the POI of the LTFV investigation. Therefore, 
consistent with our preliminary results, we have revoked PFF and Sea 
Wealth from the Thai Shrimp Order, effective January 16, 2009 (the 
effective date of the section 129 Implementation). This revocation 
applies to merchandise produced by any Rubicon Group member and 
exported by PFF or Sea Wealth, as well as to merchandise produced by 
PFF or Sea Wealth and exported by any other Rubicon Group member.

Notification

    We will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
terminate the suspension of liquidation for all shipments of frozen 
warmwater shrimp produced and exported by PFF or Sea Wealth, either 
singly or in combination with any other Rubicon Group member. Further, 
the Department will instruct CBP to liquidate without regard to 
antidumping duties (release all bonds and refund all cash deposits) 
entries of frozen warmwater shrimp produced and exported by these 
entities, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after January 16, 2009.
    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective orders (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.306. Timely written notification of 
the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial 
protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the 
regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
    We are issuing and publishing this notice in accordance with 
sections 751(b)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 
and 19 CFR 351.216.

    Dated: October 6, 2009.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-24536 Filed 10-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P