Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Amended Final Results and Final Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

AGENCY:

Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY:

On September 12, 2011, the Department of Commerce (“Department”) published in the Federal Register the final results of the fifth administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain frozen warmwater shrimp (“shrimp”) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (“Vietnam”). The period of review (“POR”) is February 1, 2009, through January 31, 2010. We are amending the Final Results to correct certain ministerial errors.

DATES:

October 18, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan Pulongbarit or Paul Walker, AD/CVD Operations, Office 9, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4013 or (202) 482-0413, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Department's regulations at 19 CFR 351.224(c)(2) state that a party to an antidumping duty proceeding must file comments concerning ministerial errors within five days after the earlier of the date on which the Secretary released disclosure documents to that party or held a disclosure meeting with that party. On September 13, and September 14, 2011, the Department received timely ministerial error allegations from Camimex, Minh Phu Seafood Corporation (and its affiliates Minh Qui Seafood Co., Ltd., and Minh Phat Seafood Co., Ltd.) (collectively “the Minh Phu Group”), and Viet Foods Co., Ltd. (“Viet Foods”) and its branch Nam Hai Foodstuff Export Company Ltd. (collectively, “Respondents”). No other party in this proceeding submitted comments on the Department's final margin calculations. Based upon the Department's analysis of the comments and allegations of ministerial errors, the Department has made changes to the margin calculation for Camimex and the Minh Phu Group. The Department also has clarified that in its rescission of Viet Foods in the Final Results, the Department inadvertently referred to the company as Viet Hai Foods. Furthermore, as a result of correcting the error in the margin calculation for Camimex, the margins for the companies granted separate rate status were also revised because the margins for those companies were derived from Camimex's and the Minh Phu Group's margins.

Scope of the Order

The scope of the order includes certain warmwater shrimp and prawns, whether frozen, 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.

The frozen warmwater shrimp and prawn products included in the scope of this order, regardless of definitions in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTS”), 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 of the order. 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 of the order.

Excluded from the scope are: (1) Breaded shrimp and prawns (HTS subheading 1605.20.1020); (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 (HTS subheadings 0306.23.0020 and 0306.23.0040); (4) shrimp and prawns in prepared meals (HTS subheading 1605.20.0510); (5) dried shrimp and prawns; (6) canned warmwater shrimp and prawns (HTS subheading 1605.20.1040); and (7) certain battered shrimp. 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 covered by the order are currently classified under the following HTS subheadings: 0306.13.0003, 0306.13.0006, 0306.13.0009, 0306.13.0012, 0306.13.0015, 0306.13.0018, 0306.13.0021, 0306.13.0024, 0306.13.0027, 0306.13.0040, 1605.20.1010, and 1605.20.1030. These HTS subheadings are provided for convenience and for customs purposes only and are not dispositive, but rather the written description of the scope of the order is dispositive.

Amended Final Results of the Review

The Act defines “ministerial error” as including “errors in addition, subtraction, or other arithmetic function, clerical errors resulting from inaccurate copying, duplication, or the like, and any other type of unintentional error which the administering authority considers ministerial.” See section 751(h) of the Act. After analyzing Respondents' comments, we have determined, in accordance with section 751(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(e), that we made certain ministerial errors in our calculations for the final results with respect to Camimex's and the Minh Phu Group's margin calculations and inadvertently referred to Viet Foods as Viet Hai Foods. For a detailed discussion of these ministerial errors, as well as the Department's analysis of these errors, see Memorandum to James C. Doyle, through Scot T. Fullerton, from Susan Pulongbarit, regarding “Fifth Antidumping Administrative Review of Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Ministerial Error Memorandum,” dated concurrently with this notice (“Ministerial Errors Memo”).

Because we have revised the rate for Camimex, we are also revising the margin for the companies granted separate-rate status because the margin for those companies was calculated as the weighted average of Camimex's and the Minh Phu Group's margins. In accordance with section 751(h) of the Act, we are amending the final results of the fifth administrative review of certain warmwater shrimp from Vietnam. As a result of correcting the ministerial errors discussed above, we determine that the following dumping margins exist for the period February 1, 2009, through January 30, 2010:

Assessment

Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b), the Department shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. The Department intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP that are related to the amended final results 15 days after the date of publication of the amended final results of review.

Cash Deposit Requirements

Cash deposit requirements related to the amended final results will be effective retroactively for all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the Final Results, as provided for by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act. The cash deposit rate for companies whose rate was corrected by the amended final results will be the corrected rate for that company noted above. For all Vietnamese exporters of subject merchandise which have not been found to be entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the Vietnam-wide rate of 25.76 percent. For all non-Vietnamese exporters of subject merchandise which have not received their own rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the Vietnamese exporters that supplied that non-Vietnamese exporter. These deposit requirements shall remain in effect until further notice.

These amended final results are published in accordance with sections 751(h) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.