Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2013-2014

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce (“Department”) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain frozen warmwater shrimp (“shrimp”) from the People's Republic of China (“PRC”), covering the period of review (“POR”) from February 1, 2013, through January 31, 2014. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES:

Effective Date: September 12, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kabir Archuletta, AD/CVD Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2593.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope of the Order

The merchandise subject to the order is certain frozen warmwater shrimp. The product is currently classified under the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) item numbers: 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. Although the HTSUS numbers are provided for convenience and for customs purposes, the written product description, available in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, remains dispositive.

Methodology

The Department conducted this review in accordance with section 751(a)(2) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (“the Act”). For a full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, which is hereby adopted by 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 (“IA ACCESS”). IA ACCESS is available to registered users at http://iaaccess.trade.gov and 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://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Background

On April 1, 2014, the Department initiated an administrative review of the Order on certain frozen warmwater shrimp from the PRC covering 60 companies for the POR. The Initiation Notice notifies the firms for which a review was initiated that they “must complete, as appropriate, either a separate rate application or certification” if they want to qualify for a separate rate in this administrative review. The Initiation Notice also states that “{i}f a producer or exporter named in this notice of initiation had no exports, sales, or entries during the period of review . . . it must notify the Department within 60 days of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.” Shantou Yuexing Enterprise Company (“SYEC”), Rizhao Smart Foods Co., Ltd. (“Smart Foods”), and Zhanjiang Regal Integrated Marine Resources Co., Ltd. (“Regal”) submitted “no shipment certifications” to the Department. No companies under review filed separate rate certifications or applications.

Preliminary Results of Review

Based upon the no shipment certifications of SYEC and Regal, and our review of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) information, we preliminarily find that SYEC and Regal had no shipments during the POR. The Department's policy is to conduct administrative reviews only where there exists at least one POR entry of subject merchandise, because duties cannot be assessed where there are no suspended entries. Because there cannot be a review where there are no entries, companies that certify to no shipments retain their most recently-determined separate rate, provided that no information contrary to those claims is presented to, or obtained by, the Department. Therefore, SYEC and Regal retain their separate rate status from prior reviews. Because Smart Foods was previously found to be part of the PRC-wide entity and continues to be part of the entity in this review, we are not making a determination regarding no shipments with respect to Smart Foods.

We also preliminarily find that 58 companies, including Smart Foods, should be treated as part of the PRC-wide entity. The Department's change in policy regarding conditional review of the PRC-wide entity applies to this administrative review. Under this policy, the PRC-wide entity will not be under review unless a party specifically requests, or the Department self-initiates, a review of the entity. Because no party requested a review of the PRC-wide entity, the entity is not under review and the entity's rate is not subject to change. The Department preliminarily finds that 58 companies under review have not established eligibility for a separate rate and, thus, they should continue to be part of the PRC-wide entity.

Public Comment

Interested parties may submit case briefs or other written comments to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 days after the date of publication of this notice and may submit rebuttal briefs no later than five days after the written comments are filed. Rebuttal briefs may respond only to arguments raised in case briefs and should identify the argument to which it is responding. A table of contents, list of authorities used, and an executive summary of issues should accompany any brief submitted to the Department. An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by the Department's electronic records system, IA ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.

Any interested party may request a hearing within 30 days of publication of this notice. Hearing requests should contain the following information: (1) The party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of the issues you intend to present at the hearing. Oral presentations will be limited to issues raised in the briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of the time and date for the hearing to be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230. The Department intends to issue the final results of this administrative review, including the results of our analysis of issues raised in the written comments, within 120 days of publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register, unless that time period is extended pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Assessment Rates

Upon issuance of the final results, the Department will determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. The Department intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP 15 days after the date of publication of the final results of review. The Department announced a refinement to its assessment practice in non-market economy (“NME”) cases. Pursuant to this refinement in practice, for entries that were not reported by companies examined during this review, the Department will instruct CBP to liquidate such entries at the NME-wide rate. In addition, if the Department determines that an exporter under review had no shipments of the subject merchandise, any suspended entries that entered under that exporter's case number (i.e., at that exporter's rate) will be liquidated at the NME-wide rate.

Cash Deposit Requirements

The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon publication of the final results of this administrative review for shipments of the subject merchandise from the PRC entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date, as provided by sections 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) For previously investigated or reviewed PRC and non-PRC exporters that received a separate rate in a prior segment of this proceeding that are not listed in footnote 12, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the existing exporter-specific rate; (2) for all PRC exporters of subject merchandise that have not been found to be entitled to a separate rate (including the firms listed in footnote 12), the cash deposit rate will be the existing rate for the PRC-wide entity; and (3) for all non-PRC exporters of subject merchandise which have not received their own rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the PRC exporter that supplied that non-PRC exporter. These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to the importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in the Secretary's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

This notice is published in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).