[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 172 (Thursday, September 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61525-61527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19337]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-552-801]


Certain Frozen Fish Fillets From the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 
Preliminary Determination of No Shipments, and Notice of Intent To 
Rescind, in Part; 2021-2022

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is conducting an 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain frozen 
fish fillets (fish fillets) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 
(Vietnam). The period of review (POR) is August 1, 2021, through July 
31, 2022. Commerce preliminarily determines that certain exporters made 
sales of subject merchandise at prices below NV during the POR, and 
that 10 exporters did not have shipments during the POR. We invite 
interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable September 7, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Javier Barrientos or Christopher 
Maciuba, AD/CVD Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2243 
or (202) 482-0413, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On October 11, 2022, 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).\1\ This review covers 25 exporters, 
including the Vietnam-wide entity.\2\ We selected two exporters, Vinh 
Hoan Corporation (Vinh Hoan) and Can Tho Import Export Seafood Joint 
Stock Company (CASEAMEX), for individual examination as mandatory 
respondents.\3\ On April 19, 2023, Commerce extended the deadline for 
these preliminary results to August 31, 2023.\4\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 87 FR 61278 (October 11, 2022) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated January 8, 
2021 (Respondent Selection Memorandum). The Initiation Notice listed 
134 company/entity names. See Initiation Notice, 87 FR at 61281-84. 
We treated all companies (i.e., 109 companies) without a preliminary 
separate rate (or an existing separate rate and a no shipment claim) 
as part of the Vietnam-wide entity.
    \3\ See Respondent Selection Memorandum. See also Memorandum, 
``Selection of Replacement Respondent for Individual Review,'' dated 
February 3, 2023.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of the 2021-2022 Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' 
dated April 19, 2023.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\5\ 
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.
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Certain 
Frozen Fish Fillets from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; 2021-
2022,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 
(Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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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.

Preliminary Determination of No Shipments

    Based on an analysis of information from U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) and letters filed by 10 companies certifying no 
shipments, Commerce preliminarily determines that the companies listed 
in Appendix III had no shipments during the POR.\6\ For additional 
information regarding this finding, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \6\ Three additional exporters also certified that they had no 
shipments during the POR. However, because these exporters have not 
established their eligibility for a separate rate, we consider them 
to be part of the Vietnam-wide entity. Thus, we preliminarily find 
that it would be inappropriate to make an individual no-shipment 
determination with respect to these exporters. Additionally, certain 
other companies that filed no shipment statements are among the 
companies for which we have announced our intent to rescind this 
review. See Appendix II.
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    Consistent with our assessment practice in non-market economy (NME) 
administrative reviews, Commerce is not rescinding this review for 
these 10 companies but, instead, intends to complete the review and 
issue appropriate instructions to CBP based on the final results of the 
review.\7\
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    \7\ See Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment 
of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694, 65694-95 (October 24, 2011), and 
the ``Assessment Rates'' section, below.
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Separate Rates

    Commerce preliminarily determines that information placed on the 
record by mandatory respondents CASEAMEX, Vinh Hoan, and four separate 
rate applicants (Cafatex Corporation, International Development and 
Investment Corporation, Loc Kim Chi Seafood Joint Stock Company, and 
the Hung Vuong Corporation) demonstrates that these companies are 
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. In this administrative review, the petitioners \8\

[[Page 61526]]

requested a review of the Vietnam-wide entity,\9\ and, therefore, the 
entity is under review in this segment of the proceeding. With the 
exception of the six companies which established their eligibility for 
a separate rate, and the companies listed in Appendices II and III, 
Commerce considers all companies 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.
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    \8\ The petitioners are the Catfish Farmers of America and 
individual U.S. catfish processors America's Catch, Inc., Alabama 
Catfish, LLC d/b/a Harvest Select Catfish, Inc., Consolidated 
Catfish Companies, LLC d/b/a Country Select Catfish, Delta Pride 
Catfish, Inc., Guidry's Catfish, Inc., Heartland Catfish Company, 
Magnolia Processing, Inc. d/b/a Pride of the Pond, and Simmons Farm 
Raised Catfish, Inc.
    \9\ See Petitioners' Letter, ````Request for Administrative 
Review,'' dated August 31, 2022.
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Notice of Intent To Rescind the 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 
publication of the notice of initiation. Commerce has preliminarily 
declined to find that one of the requestors had standing to request 
review during the POR.\10\ If this determination is unchanged when 
Commerce issues its final results in this review, it will rescind this 
review with respect to all companies for which there are no remaining 
review requests. These companies are listed in Appendix II. Commerce is 
not implementing a final rescission at this time, because its decision 
regarding the validity of certain requests is not final.
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    \10\ For additional information, see ``Standing'' section in the 
PDM.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with sections 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Act. We have calculated export price and 
constructed export price in accordance with section 772 of the Act. 
Because Vietnam is an NME 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 Margins 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. Because we calculated a dumping 
margin of zero or de minimis for Vinh Hoan, and a dumping margin that 
is not zero, de minimis, or based on entirely on facts available for 
CASEAMEX, we assigned exporters that we did not individually examine 
(including the Vietnam-wide entity) a dumping margin equal to 
CASEAMEX'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, 2021, 
through July 31, 2022:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
                                                              dumping
                        Exporter                              margin
                                                           (dollars per
                                                             kilogram)
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Vinh Hoan Corporation...................................           $0.00
Can Tho Import Export Seafood Joint Stock Company.......            0.14
Loc Kim Chi Seafood Joint Stock Company.................          * 0.14
International Development and Investment Corporation....          * 0.14
Hung Vuong Corporation..................................          * 0.14
Cafatex Corporation.....................................          * 0.14
Vietnam-wide Entity.....................................          * 0.14
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* This rate is based on the rate calculated for Can Tho Import Export
  Seafood Joint Stock Company.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(3) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information submitted by Vinh Hoan in advance of the final 
results of this review.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed to parties within 
five days of the date of publication of this notice.\11\ Pursuant to 19 
CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested parties may submit case briefs no 
later than seven days after the date on which the final verification 
report is issued in this review. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues 
raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than seven days after 
the date for filing case briefs.\12\ Parties who submit case or 
rebuttal briefs in this review are encouraged to submit with each 
argument: (1) a statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the 
argument; and (3) a table of authorities.\13\ Case and rebuttal briefs 
should be filed using ACCESS and must be served on interested 
parties.\14\ Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its 
requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary 
information, until further notice.\15\
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Temporary Rule Modifying 
AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective 
Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020) (Temporary Rule).
    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2); see also 19 CFR 
351.303 (for general filing requirements).
    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.303(f).
    \15\ See Temporary Rule, 85 FR at 41363-64.
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    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, filed electronically via ACCESS.\16\ Requests should 
contain: (1) the party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the 
number of participants; and (3) a list of issues to be discussed. 
Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised in case 
and rebuttal briefs.\17\ If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce 
intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be determined. A 
hearing request must be filed electronically using ACCESS and received 
in its entirety by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the 
publication of this notice.
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    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.310.
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Assessment Rates

    Upon completion of the final results of this administrative review, 
Commerce shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by 
this review. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1), if the weighted-average 
dumping margin for CASEAMEX or Vinh Hoan is not zero or de minimis 
(i.e., less than 0.50 percent) in the final results of this review, we 
will calculate importer-specific (or customer-specific) per-unit 
assessment rates by dividing the amount of dumping for reviewed sales 
to the importer or customer by the total sales quantity associated with 
those

[[Page 61527]]

transactions. If either respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is 
zero or de minimis in the final results of review, or if an importer-
specific or customer-specific assessment rate is zero or de minimis, we 
will instruct CBP to liquidate appropriate entries without regard to 
antidumping duties. The final results of this review shall be the basis 
for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise 
covered by this review, and for future deposits of estimated duties, 
where applicable.\18\
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    \18\ See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.
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    For any respondent that was not selected for individual examination 
in this administrative review, including the Vietnam-wide entity, 
Commerce will instruct, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all 
appropriate entries of subject merchandise at the rate of $0.14 per 
kilogram.
    Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier 
than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results of this 
review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at the 
U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will 
direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties 
to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within 
90 days of publication).

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective for all 
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the 
final results of this administrative review, as provided by section 
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) for the exporters listed above, the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margins 
established in the final results of this review, except if the rate is 
de minimis, in which case the cash deposit rate will be zero; (2) for 
previously-examined Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese exporters not listed 
above that at the time of entry are eligible for a separate rate base 
on a prior completed segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit rate 
will continue to the be the existing exporter-specific cash deposit 
rate; (3) for all non-Vietnamese exporters of subject merchandise which 
at the time of entry do not have a separate rate, the cash deposit rate 
will be the rate applicable to the Vietnamese exporter that supplied 
the non-Vietnamese exporter. These cash deposit requirements, when 
imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Final Results of Review

    Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final 
results of this administrative review, including the results of its 
analysis of the issues raised in any written briefs, no later than 120 
days after the date of publication of this notice, pursuant to section 
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Notification to Importers

    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to 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 POR. Failure to comply with this 
requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement 
of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double 
antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing the preliminary results of this 
review in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, and 
19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: August 31, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Standing
V. Intent To Rescind the Review, In Part
VI. Preliminary Determination of No Shipments
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Recommendation

Appendix II

Companies for Which Commerce Intends To Rescind the Review

Bien Dong Seafood Company Ltd. (also known as Bien Dong, Bien Dong 
Seafood, Bien Dong Seafood Co., Ltd., Biendong Seafood Co., Ltd., 
Bien Dong Seafood Limited Liability Company or Bien Dong Seafoods 
Co., Ltd.)
C.P. Vietnam Corporation (also known as C.P. Vietnam Corp.)
Dai Thanh Seafoods Company Limited (also known as DATHACO, Dai Thanh 
Seafoods or Dai Thanh Seafoods Co., Ltd.)
East Sea Seafoods LLC (also known as East Sea Seafoods Limited 
Liability Company, ESS LLC, ESS, ESS JVC, or East Sea Seafoods Joint 
Venture Co., Ltd.)
Hai Huong Seafood Joint Stock Company (also known as HHFish, HH 
Fish, or Hai Huong Seafood)
NTSF Seafoods Joint Stock Company (also known as NTSF, NTSF Seafoods 
or Ntsf Seafoods Jsc)
PREFCO Distribution, LLC.
Vinh Quang Fisheries Corporation (also known as Vinh Quang, Vinh 
Quang Fisheries Corp., Vinh Quang Fisheries Joint Stock Company, or 
Vinh Quang Fisheries Co., Ltd.)

Appendix III

Companies With No Shipments During the POR

Fatifish Company Limited (also known as FATIFISH or FATIFISHCO or 
Fatfish Co., Ltd.)
GF Seafood Corp.
Green Farms Seafood JSC
GODACO Seafood Joint Stock Company (also known as GODACO, GODACO 
Seafood, GODACO SEAFOOD, GODACO_SEAFOOD, or GODACO Seafood J.S.C.)
Golden Quality Seafood Corporation (also known as Golden Quality, 
GoldenQuality, GOLDENQUALITY, or GoldenQuality Seafood Corporation)
Green Farms Seafood Joint Stock Company (also known as Green Farms, 
Green Farms Seafood JSC, GreenFarm SeaFoods Joint Stock Company, or 
Green Farms Seafoods Joint Stock Company)
Nam Viet Corporation (also known as NAVICO)
Nha Trang Seafoods, Inc. (also known as Nha Trang Seafoods-F89, Nha 
Trang Seafoods, or Nha Trang Seaproduct Company)
QMC Foods, Inc.
QVD Food Co., Ltd.*
    * This is a collapsed entity comprised of QVD Food Co., Ltd, QVD 
Dong Thap Food Co., Ltd. (also known as Dong Thap or QVD DT), and 
Thuan Hung Co., Ltd. (also known as THUFICO).

[FR Doc. 2023-19337 Filed 9-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P