[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33350-33351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13202]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-549-828]


Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From Thailand: Preliminary 
Countervailing Duty Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily 
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to 
producers and exporters of certain frozen warmwater shrimp (frozen 
shrimp) from Thailand. The period of investigation is January 1, 2011, 
through December 31, 2011. Pursuant to section 705(a)(1) of the Tariff 
Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), the final determination will be 
issued 75 days after the date that the Department makes this 
preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective Date: June 4, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myrna Lobo or Justin Neuman, AD/CVD 
Operations, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2371 and (202) 482-0486, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are 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, deveined or not deveined, cooked or raw, 
or otherwise processed in frozen form, regardless of size. For a 
complete description of the scope of the investigation, see Appendix 1 
to this notice.

Methodology

    The Department is conducting this countervailing duty investigation 
in accordance with section 701 of the Act. For a full description of 
the methodology underlying our preliminary conclusions, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\1\ The Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
is a public document and is on file electronically via Import 
Administration's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized 
Electronic Service System (IA ACCESS). IA ACCESS is available to 
registered users at http://iaaccess.trade.gov, and is available to all 
parties in the Central Records Unit, room 7046 of the main Department 
of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly on the 
Internet at http://www.trade.gov/ia/. The signed Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \1\ See Memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to 
Ronald K. Lorentzen, Acting Assistant Secretary for Import 
Administration regarding ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain 
Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Thailand,'' dated concurrently with 
this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, we 
calculated a countervailing duty rate for each individually 
investigated producer/exporter of the subject merchandise. We have also 
calculated an all-others rate. Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the 
Act state that for companies not investigated, we will determine an 
all-others rate by weighting the individual company subsidy rate of 
each of the companies investigated by each company's exports of subject 
merchandise to the United States. However, the all-others rate may not 
include zero and de minimis rates or any rates based solely on the 
facts available. In this investigation, the only rate that is not de 
minimis or based entirely on facts available is the rate calculated for 
Thai Union Frozen Products Public Co., Ltd./Thai Union Seafood Co., 
Ltd. (TUF/TUS). Consequently, the rate calculated for TUF/TUS is also 
assigned as the ``all others'' rate.

Preliminary Determination and Suspension of Liquidation

    We preliminarily determine the countervailable subsidy rates to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thai Union Frozen Products Public Co., Ltd./Thai Union             2.09.
 Seafood Co., Ltd.......................................
Marine Gold Products Limited............................           *1.75

[[Page 33351]]

 
All Others..............................................           2.09.
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* De minimis.

    In accordance with sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (2) of the Act, we are 
directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation of 
all entries of frozen shrimp from Thailand that are entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of the 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register, and to require a 
cash deposit for such entries of merchandise in the amounts indicated 
above. We are not, however, ordering suspension of liquidation or the 
collection of cash deposits, on entries by Marine Gold Products Limited 
because its countervailing duty rate is de minimis.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    The Department intends to disclose to interested parties the 
calculations performed in connection with this preliminary 
determination within five days of announcement of its public 
announcement.\2\ Interested parties may submit case and rebuttal 
briefs, as well as request a hearing.\3\ For a schedule of the 
deadlines for filing case briefs, rebuttal briefs, and hearing 
requests, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \2\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \3\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)-(d), 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act.

     Dated: May 28, 2013.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix 1

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are 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,\4\ deveined or not 
deveined, cooked or raw, or otherwise processed in frozen form, 
regardless of size.
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    \4\ ``Tails'' in this context means the tail fan, which includes 
the telson and the uropods.
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    The frozen warmwater shrimp and prawn products included in the 
scope, 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. In addition, food preparations 
(including dusted shrimp), which are not ``prepared meals,'' that 
contain more than 20 percent by weight of shrimp or prawn are also 
included in the scope.
    Excluded from the scope are: (1) Breaded shrimp and prawns; (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; 
(4) shrimp and prawns in prepared meals; (5) dried shrimp and 
prawns; (6) canned warmwater shrimp and prawns; and (7) certain 
``battered shrimp'' (see below).
    ``Battered 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 individually 
quick frozen (``IQF'') freezing immediately after application of the 
dusting layer. When dusted in accordance with the definition of 
dusting above, the battered shrimp product is also coated with a wet 
viscous layer containing egg and/or milk, and par-fried.
    The products included in the scope of this investigation are 
currently classified under the following HTSUS subheadings: 
0306.17.00.03, 0306.17.00.06, 0306.17.00.09, 0306.17.00.12, 
0306.17.00.15, 0306.17.00.18, 0306.17.00.21, 0306.17.00.24, 
0306.17.00.27, 0306.17.00.40, 1605.21.10.30 and 1605.29.10.10. These 
HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and for customs 
purposes only and are not dispositive, but rather the written 
description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix 2

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

1. Scope Comments
2. Scope of the Investigation
3. Injury Test
4. Subsidies Valuation
5. Analysis of Programs
6. ITC Notification
7. Disclosure and Public Comment
8. Verification

[FR Doc. 2013-13202 Filed 6-3-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P