Certain Frozen Fish Fillets From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part; 2022-2023

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On October 18, 2023, Commerce initiated an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on fish fillets from Vietnam in accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i) and section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). This review covers eight exporters of the subject merchandise. We selected two exporters, Bien Dong and Vinh Hoan, for individual examination as mandatory respondents. On April 29, 2024, Commerce extended the deadline for these preliminary results to August 30, 2024. On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days. The deadline for the preliminary results is now September 6, 2024.

For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included in Appendix I to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Scope of the Order

The products covered by this order are fish fillets from Vietnam. For a full description of the scope of the order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Standing

Based on an analysis of information gathered from initial and supplemental questionnaires, we find that the evidence supports a determination that Maritime Products International and QMC Foods Inc. have standing in this segment of the proceeding to request administrative review as wholesalers of domestic like product pursuant to section 771(9)(C) of the Act. We find that the evidence on record does not support Luscious Seafood LLC's claim to be a wholesaler of domestic like product pursuant to section 771(9)(C) of the Act during the POR. For additional information regarding these findings, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum and standing memoranda.

Separate Rates

Commerce preliminarily determines that information placed on the record by mandatory respondents Bien Dong and Vinh Hoan, and six additional companies seeking a separate rate ( i.e., Can Tho Import Export Seafood Joint Stock Company, Dai Thanh Seafoods Company Limited, Dong A Seafood One Member Company Limited, HungCa 6 Corporation, Nam Viet Corporation, and NTSF Seafoods Joint Stock Company) demonstrates that these companies are preliminarily entitled to separate rate status. For additional information, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Vietnam-Wide Entity

The Vietnam-wide entity will not be under review unless a party specifically requests, or Commerce self-initiates, a review of the entity. Because the only valid request for review of the Vietnam-wide entity was withdrawn, we are preliminary rescinding our review of the entity; if this decision becomes final, the entity's rate ( i.e., $2.39 per kilogram (kg)) will not be subject to change. With the exception of the eight companies which established their eligibility for a separate rate, Commerce considers all companies currently under review to be part of the Vietnam-wide entity. For additional information, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the “Dumping Margin for Exporters Not Selected for Individual Review” section below.

Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an administrative review, in whole or in part, if the party that requested a review withdraws the request within 90 days of the date of the publication of the notice of initiation. In January 2024, the petitioners timely withdrew their review request for the Vietnam-wide entity. The only remaining review request for the Vietnam-wide entity is from Luscious Seafood. As noted above, we have preliminarily determined that Luscious Seafood was not a U.S. wholesaler of domestic like product during the POR, and, thus, it does not have standing to request an administrative review in this segment of the proceeding; accordingly, we are preliminarily rescinding our review of the Vietnam-wide entity because all other requests for review from interested parties have been withdrawn.

Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), when there are no reviewable entries of subject merchandise during the POR subject to the antidumping duty order for which liquidation is suspended, Commerce may rescind an administrative review, in whole or only with respect to a particular exporter or producer. At the end of the administrative review, any suspended entries are liquidated at the assessment rate computed for the review period. Therefore, for an administrative review to be conducted, there must be a reviewable, suspended entry to be liquidated at the newly calculated assessment rate.

On December 29, 2023, Commerce placed information from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the record, and notified all interested parties of its intent to rescind this review with respect to numerous companies because those companies had no reviewable, suspended entries of subject merchandise, and we invited parties to comment. As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we do not find that the comments/information submitted to the record undermines the validity of the CBP data. Accordingly, in the absence of suspended entries of subject merchandise during the POR for 12 companies/entities that currently have a separate rate for which this review was initiated, we are hereby rescinding this administrative review, in part, with respect to these companies, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3). See Appendix II.A for a list of the applicable companies.

Finally, we are rescinding this review with respect to one company whose only POR entry has already been individually examined in a recently-completed new shipper review in this proceeding. See Appendix II.B.

Methodology

Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 751(a)(1)(B) of the Act. We have calculated constructed export price in accordance with section 772 of the Act. Because Vietnam is a non-market economy country within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, we have calculated NV in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Dumping Margin for Exporters Not Selected for Individual Review

The Act and Commerce's regulations do not address the establishment of a rate to apply to exporters not selected for individual examination when Commerce limits its examination in an administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. Generally, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in an investigation, for guidance when calculating the rate for respondents that are not individually examined in an administrative review. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the all-others rate should be calculated by averaging the weighted-average dumping margins calculated for individually-examined respondents, excluding dumping margins that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts available. However, if this method is not feasible, Commerce may use another reasonable method to calculate the non-individually examined exporters' or producers' rates.

Consistent with the Act and the SAA, we have preliminarily determined that a reasonable method for assigning a dumping margin to the non-individually examined separate-rate companies, under section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, is to assign the zero percent dumping margin calculated for the mandatory respondents. Accordingly, we assigned exporters that we did not individually examine a dumping margin equal to Bien Dong and Vinh Hoan's dumping margin, consistent with Commerce's practice and section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.

Preliminary Results of Review

Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist for the period August 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023: