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AGENCY:
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of frozen warmwater shrimp (shrimp) from Ecuador are not being, or not likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation (POI) October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023.
DATES:
Applicable October 28, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kyle Clahane or Matthew Palmer, AD/CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5449 or (202) 482-1678, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 30, 2024, Commerce published in the Federal Register its preliminary affirmative determination in the LTFV investigation of shrimp from Ecuador. We invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary Determination. On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days. The deadline for the final determination of this investigation is now October 21, 2024.
See Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Ecuador: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures,89 FR 46857 (May 30, 2024) ( Preliminary Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Id. 89 FR at 46859.
See Memorandum, “Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,” dated July 22, 2024.
A summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published the Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues raised by parties for this final determination, may be found in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. The Issues and 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 Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
See Memorandum, “Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value in the Investigation of Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Ecuador,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is shrimp from Ecuador. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
We received no comments from interested parties on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Preliminary Determination. Therefore, we made no changes to the scope of the investigation.
Verification
Commerce was unable to conduct on-site verifications of the information relied on in making its final determination in this investigation. However, in August 2024, we took additional steps in lieu of on-site verifications to verify the information relied upon in making this final determination, in accordance with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), by conducting virtual verifications of Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila S.A. (Santa Priscila) and Sociedad Nacional de Galápagos C.A. (SONGA).
See Memoranda, “Verification of the Cost Response of Sociedad Nacional de Galapagos C.A. in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Ecuador,” dated September 20, 2024 (SONGA's Cost Verification Report); “Sales Verification of Sociedad Nacional de Galápagos C.A,” dated August 27, 2024 (SONGA's Sales Verification Report) (collectively, SONGA's Verification Reports); “Verification of the Cost Response of Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Frozen warm Water Shrimp from Ecuador,” dated September 18, 2024 (Santa Priscila's Cost Verification Report); and “Sales Verification of Industrial Santa Priscila,” dated September 19, 2024 (Santa Priscila's Sales Verification Report) (collectively, Santa Priscila's Verification Reports).
Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by interested parties in this investigation are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum is attached to this notice as Appendix II.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
We made certain changes regarding Santa Priscila and SONGA's reported sales and cost data since the Preliminary Determination. For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist:
| Exporter/Producer | Weighted-average dumping margin (percent) |
|---|---|
| Sociedad Nacional de Galápagos C.A./Marina del Rey | 0.00. |
| Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila S.A./Tropical Packing Ecuador Tropack S.A | 0.48 ( de minimis). |