[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33347-33349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13235]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-331-803]


Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From Ecuador: Preliminary 
Negative Countervailing Duty Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') preliminarily 
determines that countervailable

[[Page 33348]]

subsidies are not being provided to producers and exporters of certain 
frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador. 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: Joshua Morris or Austin Redington, 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-
1779 and (202) 482-1664, 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 (``CVD'') 
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, which is hereby adopted by 
this notice.\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 Gary Taverman, Senior Advisor 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 Ecuador,'' dated concurrently with this notice 
(``Preliminary Decision Memorandum'').
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    We calculated de minimis CVD rates for each individually 
investigated producer/exporter of the subject merchandise. Consistent 
with section 703(b)(4)(A) of the Act, we have disregarded these rates 
and preliminarily determine that no countervailable subsides are being 
provided to the production or exportation of the subject merchandise in 
Ecuador. For companies not individually investigated, we have 
calculated an average rate as described in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum. The ``all others'' rate is also de minimis. Consequently, 
consistent with section 703(b)(4)(A) of the Act, we similarly have 
disregarded this rate.

Preliminary Determination and Suspension of Liquidation

    We preliminarily determine the countervailable subsidy rates to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Promarisco S.A..........................................          * 0.39
Sociedad Nacional de Galapagos C.A......................          * 0.70
All Others..............................................          * 0.56
------------------------------------------------------------------------
De minimis.

    Because we have preliminarily determined that the CVD rates in this 
investigation are de minimis, we will not direct U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection to suspend liquidation of entries of subject 
merchandise.

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 4 and 
10 percent of the product's total weight after being dusted, but 
prior to

[[Page 33349]]

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. Disclosure and Public Comment
7. Verification

[FR Doc. 2013-13235 Filed 6-3-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P