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AGENCY:
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of frozen warmwater shrimp (shrimp) from India. The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.
DATES:
Applicable October 28, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Benjamin Nathan, AD/CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3834.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On April 1, 2024, Commerce published the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register . In the Preliminary Determination, and in accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce aligned the final countervailing duty (CVD) determination with the final antidumping duty determination. Commerce invited parties to comment on the Preliminary Determination. On July 19, 2024, Commerce released its Post-Preliminary Decision. On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days. The deadline for the final determination is now October 21, 2024.
See Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from India: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Countervailable Subsidies, and Alignment of Final Determination With the Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 89 FR 22386 (April 1, 2024) ( Preliminary Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM).
See Preliminary Determination, 89 FR at 22386.
Id.
See Memorandum, “Post Preliminary Analysis,” dated July 19, 2024.
See Memorandum, “Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,” dated July 22, 2024.
For a complete description of the events that followed the Preliminary Determination, see 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 the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from India,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are shrimp from India. For a complete description of the scope of the 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
As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, in July and August 2024, Commerce verified all information reported by Devi Sea Foods Limited (Devi), Sandhya Aqua Exports Private Limited (Sandhya), and the Government of India (GOI). We used standard verification procedures, including an examination of relevant account records and original source documents provided by the respondents.
See Memoranda, “Verification of the Questionnaire Responses of the Government of India,” dated August 29, 2024; “Verification of the Questionnaire Responses of Devi Seafoods Private Limited,” dated August 29, 2024; and “Verification of the Questionnaire Responses of Sandhya Aqua Exports Private Limited.,” dated August 29, 2024.
Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received
The subsidy programs under investigation, and the issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in this investigation, are discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. For a list of the issues raised by parties, and to which we responded in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, see Appendix II.
Methodology
Commerce conducted this investigation in accordance with section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found to be countervailable, Commerce determines that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an “authority” that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific. For a full description of the methodology underlying our final determination, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our review and analysis of the information received during verification and comments received from parties, for this final determination, we made certain changes to the countervailable subsidy rate calculations for Devi, Sandhya, and for all other producers/exporters. For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
In accordance with section 705(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, we calculated an individual estimated countervailable subsidy rate for the two mandatory respondents, Devi and Sandhya. Section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act states that, for companies not individually investigated, Commerce will determine an all-others rate equal to the weighted-average countervailable subsidy rates established for exporters and/or producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis countervailable subsidy rates, and any rates determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.
In this investigation, we continue to calculate individual total net countervailable subsidy rates for Devi and Sandhya that are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. We, therefore, continue to calculate the all-others rate using a weighted average of the individual estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents (Devi and Sandhya) using each company's publicly-ranged sales value for their exports to the United States of subject merchandise, in accordance with section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act.
With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sale quantities for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part,75 FR 53661, 53663 (September 1, 2010); see also Forged Steel Fluid End Blocks from Italy: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty Determination,85 FR 31460, 31461 (May 26, 2020), unchanged in Forged Steel Fluid End Blocks from Italy: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 85 80022, 80023 (December 11, 2020).
Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following estimated net countervailable subsidy rates exist for the period April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023:
| Company | Subsidy rate (percent ad valorem) |
|---|---|
| Devi Sea Foods Limited | 5.87 |
| Sandhya Aqua Exports Private Limited | 5.63 |
| All Others | 5.77 |
Commerce continues to determine that Devi is cross owned with Devi Sea Foods Inc, Devee Horizon LLP, Devee Power Corporation Limited, and Devee Superior Feeds Limited. See Preliminary Determination PDM at 9; see also Memorandum, “Post-Preliminary Analysis,” dated July 19, 2024, at 5-6.
Commerce continues to determine that Sandhya is cross owned with Neeli Sea Foods Private Limited, Vijay Aqua Processors Private Limited, and Neeli Aqua Farms. See Preliminary Determination PDM at 9.