[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 81 (Thursday, April 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31722-31723]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08817]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-331-806]


Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From Ecuador: Amended Preliminary 
Determination of Countervailing Duty Investigation

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) published a notice 
in the Federal Register on April 1, 2024, in which Commerce 
preliminarily determined that countervailable subsidies are being 
provided to producers and exporters of frozen warmwater shrimp (shrimp) 
from Ecuador. Based on comments filed by interested parties in this 
investigation, Commerce is amending the preliminary affirmative 
countervailing duty (CVD) determination on shrimp from Ecuador to 
correct significant ministerial errors.

DATES: Applicable April 25, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zachary Shaykin or Reginald Anadio, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2638 or (202) 
482-3166, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In accordance with section 703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.205(b), on April 1, 2024, Commerce 
published in the Federal Register the preliminary affirmative CVD 
determination for shrimp from Ecuador, and alignment of the final 
determination with the final antidumping duty determination.\1\ From 
March 28 through April 2, 2024, we received timely-filed ministerial 
error allegations from Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila S.A. (Santa 
Priscila), Sociedad Nacional de Gal[aacute]pagos C.A. (SONGA), the 
petitioner,\2\ and the Government of Ecuador (GOE).\3\ Santa Priscila, 
SONGA, and the GOE alleged in their ministerial error allegations that 
Commerce made significant ministerial errors in the Preliminary 
Determination with respect to Santa Priscila and SONGA's subsidy 
rates.\4\
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    \1\ See Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From Ecuador: Preliminary 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of 
Final Determination With the Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 
89 FR 22379 (April 1, 2024) (Preliminary Determination), and 
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM).
    \2\ The petitioner in this investigation is the American Shrimp 
Processors Association.
    \3\ See Santa Priscila's Letter, ``Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from 
Ecuador--Request for Correction of Ministerial Errors with Respect 
to Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila S.A. and Request for 
Meeting,'' dated March 28, 2024 (Santa Priscila's Ministerial Error 
Allegation); SONGA's Letter, ``Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from 
Ecuador--Request for Correction of Ministerial Error in Preliminary 
Determination,'' dated March 29, 2024 (SONGA's Ministerial Error 
Allegation); see also Petitioner's Letter, ``Frozen Warmwater Shrimp 
from Ecuador: Ministerial Error Comments,'' dated April 2, 2024; and 
GOE's Letter, ``Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Ecuador--Request for 
Correction of Ministerial Errors with Respect to Industrial Pesquera 
Santa Priscila S.A. and Request for Meeting,'' dated April 2, 2024 
(GOE's Ministerial Error Allegation).
    \4\ See Santa Priscila's Ministerial Error Allegation; see also 
SONGA's Ministerial Error Allegation; and GOE's Ministerial Error 
Allegation.
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Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2022, through 
December 31, 2022.

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are shrimp from Ecuador. 
For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see 
Preliminary Determination at Appendix I.

Analysis of Significant Ministerial Error Allegations

    Commerce will analyze any comments received and, if appropriate, 
correct any significant ministerial error by amending the preliminary 
determination according to 19 CFR 351.224(e). A ministerial error is 
defined in 19 CFR 351.224(f) 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.'' \5\ A 
significant ministerial error is defined as a ministerial 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 CVD rate calculated in the 
original preliminary determination; or (2) a difference between a CVD 
rate of zero (or de minimis) and a CVD rate greater than de minimis, or 
vice versa.\6\
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    \5\ See section 705(e) of the Act.
    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.224(g).
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Amended Preliminary Determination

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.224(e) and (g)(1), Commerce is amending the 
Preliminary Determination to reflect the correction of two ministerial 
errors made in the calculation of the countervailable subsidy rate for 
Santa Priscila.\7\ Specifically, when calculating a countervailable 
subsidy rate attributable to Santa Priscila under the Tax Incentives 
for Priority Sectors under the 2010 Organic Production Code (Priority 
Sectors) program, we inadvertently used the wrong tax deduction amount 
with which to calculate the benefit attributable to Santa Priscila 
under the Priority Sectors Program.\8\ Further, we inadvertently

[[Page 31723]]

calculated a countervailable subsidy rate attributable to Santa 
Priscila under both the Priority Sectors program and the Investment 
Contract program that should have only been calculated pursuant to one 
program, i.e., the Priority Sectors Program.\9\ Commerce finds that 
these ministerial errors are significant ministerial errors within the 
meaning of 19 CFR 351.224(g) because correction of these errors 
decreases Santa Priscila's countervailing subsidy rate from 13.41 to 
2.89 percent, which is a change that is at least five absolute 
percentage points in, and more than 25 percent of, the subsidy rate 
calculated for Santa Priscila in the original Preliminary 
Determination.
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    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Countervailing Duty Investigation of 
Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Ecuador: Allegations of Significant 
Ministerial Errors in the Preliminary Determination,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Ministerial Error Memorandum).
    \8\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 15 through 17.
    \9\ Id. at 15 through 17 and 23 through 26.
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    Furthermore, in the Preliminary Determination, we calculated a 1.69 
percent subsidy rate for SONGA and indicated that we will instruct U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to require a cash deposit equal to 
that rate. Section 703(b)(4)(B) of the Act, provides that Commerce will 
apply a de minimis threshold of two percent to a country designated by 
the United States Trade Representative (USTR) as a developing country 
for purposes of the CVD law.\10\ Ecuador is designated as a developing 
country by the USTR under CVD law and is subject to a de minimis 
standard of two percent.\11\ As stated by SONGA and the GOE,\12\ we 
inadvertently did not designate the preliminary ad valorem subsidy rate 
assigned to SONGA as de minimis as stipulated by section 703(b)(4)(B) 
of the Act. Therefore, for SONGA, we will not direct CBP to suspend 
liquidation of entries of the subject merchandise from Ecuador, in 
accordance with section 703(b)(4)(B) of the Act.
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    \10\ See section 703(b)(4)(B) of the Act; see also section 
771(36) of the Act.
    \11\ See Designations of Developing and Least Developed 
Countries Under the Countervailing Duty Law, 85 FR 7613, 7615 
(February 10, 2020); see also Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Ecuador, 
India, Indonesia, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation 
of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 88 FR 81053, 81056 (November 
21, 2023).
    \12\ See SONGA's Ministerial Error Allegation; see also GOE's 
Ministerial Error Allegation.
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    In addition, as a result of this inadvertent error and as 
stipulated by section 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act, we are correcting the 
all-others rate to equal the amended preliminary CVD rate established 
for Santa Priscila, i.e., 2.89 percent ad valorem, as this is the only 
rate that is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on the facts 
otherwise available.
    Also, we listed an incorrect name for one of Santa Priscila's 
cross-owned companies, i.e., Tropical Packing Ecuador S.A.\13\ 
Moreover, we inadvertently stated ``aluminum extrusions from 
Indonesia'' in the ITC Notification section of the original notice.\14\
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    \13\ See Preliminary Determination, 89 FR at 22380.
    \14\ Id. at 22381
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    For a complete discussion of the alleged ministerial errors, see 
the Preliminary Ministerial Error Memorandum.

Amended Preliminary Determination

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Subsidy rate (percent ad
                  Company                              valorem)
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Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila S.A.\15\  2.89.
Sociedad Nacional de Gal[aacute]pagos        1.69 (de minimis).
 C.A.\16\.
All-Others.................................  2.89.
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Correction
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    \15\ As discussed in the Preliminary Determination, Commerce has 
found the following companies to be cross-owned with Santa Priscila: 
Manesil S.A., Produmar S.A., Egidiosa S.A., and Tropical Packing 
Ecuador S.A.
    \16\ As discussed in the Preliminary Determination, Commerce has 
found the following companies to be cross-owned with SONGA: Naturisa 
S.A., Holding Sola & Sola Solacciones S.A., and Empacadora Champmar 
S.A.
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    In the Federal Register of April 1, 2024, in FR Doc 2024-06845, on 
page 22380, in the third column, correct the Subsidy Rate (percent ad 
valorem) for Sociedad Nacional de Galapagos C.A. and All Others, as 
found in the rate table, to 1.69 de minimis and 2.89, respectively, and 
correct the name ``Tropack S.A.'' as found under footnote 9 to 
``Tropical Packing Ecuador S.A.'' Additionally, in FR Doc 2024-06845, 
on page 22380, in the third column, second paragraph, include ``As 
provided for in section 703(b)(4)(B) of the Act, for developing 
countries, any rate less than two percent ad valorem in an 
investigation is de minimis. Accordingly, for SONGA, we will not direct 
CBP to suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise'' before 
the sentence stating, ``Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), 
Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rates 
indicated above.'' Additionally, in FR Doc 2024-06845, on page 22381, 
in the second column, correct ``aluminum extrusions from Indonesia'' to 
``shrimp from Ecuador.''

Amended Cash Deposits and Suspension of Liquidation

    The collection of cash deposits and suspension of liquidation will 
be established according to the rates calculated in this amended 
preliminary determination. Because the amended rates for Santa Priscila 
and all others result in decreased cash deposits, they will be 
effective retroactively to April 1, 2024, the date of publication of 
the Preliminary Determination. Parties will be notified of this 
determination, in accordance with section 703(d) and (f) of the Act.

Disclosure

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed to parties in this 
proceeding within five days after public announcement of the amended 
preliminary determination, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, we will notify the 
International Trade Commission of our amended preliminary 
determination.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice is issued and published in accordance with sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act.

    Dated: April 19, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2024-08817 Filed 4-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P