[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12308-12310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6438]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-549-822]


Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Thailand: Initiation of 
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

DATES: Effective Date: March 24, 2009.
SUMMARY: In February 2009, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
received from several producers/exporters of frozen warmwater shrimp 
from Thailand a request to initiate a changed circumstances review to 
consider partially revoking the order with respect to two companies, 
pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216(b) and 351.222. In response to this 
request, the Department is initiating a changed circumstances review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Henry Almond, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office 2, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0049.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On February 1, 2005, the Department published in the Federal 
Register an antidumping duty order on certain frozen warmwater shrimp 
from Thailand. See Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Frozen 
Warmwater Shrimp From Thailand, 70 FR 5145 (Feb. 1, 2005) (Thai Shrimp 
Order).
    On January 30, 2009, the Department implemented its determination 
regarding the offsetting of dumped sales with non-dumped sales in the

[[Page 12309]]

antidumping duty investigation of certain frozen warmwater shrimp from 
Thailand, challenged by Thailand before the World Trade Organization. 
See Implementation of the Findings of the WTO Panel in United States--
Antidumping Measure on Shrimp From Thailand: Notice of Determination 
Under Section 129 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and Partial 
Revocation of the Antidumping Duty Order on Frozen Warmwater Shrimp 
From Thailand, 74 FR 5638 (Jan. 30, 2009) (Section 129 Implementation). 
As a result, the Department revoked the following nine companies, 
collectively known as the ``Rubicon Group,'' from the Thai Shrimp 
Order: Andaman Seafood Co., Ltd., Chanthaburi Frozen Food Co., Ltd., 
Chanthaburi Seafoods Co., Ltd., Intersia Foods Co., Ltd., Phatthana 
Seafood Co., Ltd., S.C.C. Frozen Seafood Co., Ltd., Thailand Fishery 
Cold Storage Public Co., Ltd., Thai International Seafoods Co., Ltd., 
and Wales & Co. Universe Limited. See Section 129 Implementation, 74 FR 
at 5639.
    On February 5, 2009, the Rubicon Group requested that the 
Department conduct an expedited changed circumstances review under 19 
CFR 351.221(c)(3)(iii) to consider also revoking from the Thai Shrimp 
Order two additional companies (Phatthana Frozen Food Co., Ltd. (PFF) 
and Sea Wealth Frozen Food Co., Ltd. (Sea Wealth)), both of which 
became operational after the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation. 
According to the Rubicon Group, although these two companies were not 
included in the Department's margin calculations in the LTFV 
investigation, the Department has treated them as part of the Rubicon 
Group in subsequent segments of this proceeding. In this request, the 
Rubicon Group additionally contended that any revocation for PFF and 
Sea Wealth should be effective January 16, 2009, the effective date of 
the Section 129 Implementation.
    On February 12, 2009, we requested that the Rubicon Group clarify 
its request to identify the relevant statutory provision under which 
its request fell. On February 13, 2009, the Rubicon Group clarified its 
changed circumstances review request stating that it would be 
appropriate for the Department to evaluate its request using either a 
``collapsing'' analysis under 19 CFR 351.401(a) or the Department's 
``successor-in-interest'' analysis.
    On February 18, 2009, we requested further information from the 
Rubicon Group with respect to the following four factors: Management; 
production facilities; supplier relationships; and customer base. On 
March 13, 2009, the Rubicon Group submitted the requested information.

Scope of the Order

    The scope of this order includes certain frozen warmwater shrimp 
and prawns, whether wild-caught (ocean harvested) or farm-raised 
(produced by aquaculture), head-on or head-off, shell-on or peeled, 
tail-on or tail-off,\1\ deveined or not deveined, cooked or raw, or 
otherwise processed in frozen form.
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    \1\ ``Tails'' in this context means the tail fan, which includes 
the telson and the uropods.
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    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 (HTSUS), 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 this order. In addition, food 
preparations, which are not ``prepared meals,'' that contain more than 
20 percent by weight of shrimp or prawn are also included in the scope 
of this order.
    Excluded from the scope are: (1) Breaded shrimp and prawns (HTSUS 
subheading 1605.20.10.20); (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 (HTSUS subheadings 0306.23.00.20 and 0306.23.00.40); (4) 
shrimp and prawns in prepared meals (HTSUS subheading 1605.20.05.10); 
(5) dried shrimp and prawns; (6) canned warmwater shrimp and prawns 
(HTSUS subheading 1605.20.10.40); (7) certain dusted shrimp; and (8) 
certain battered shrimp. Dusted 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 IQF freezing immediately 
after application of the dusting layer. Battered shrimp is a shrimp-
based product that, when dusted in accordance with the definition of 
dusting above, is coated with a wet viscous layer containing egg and/or 
milk, and par-fried.
    The products covered by this order are currently classified under 
the following HTSUS subheadings: 0306.13.00.03, 0306.13.00.06, 
0306.13.00.09, 0306.13.00.12, 0306.13.00.15, 0306.13.00.18, 
0306.13.00.21, 0306.13.00.24, 0306.13.00.27, 0306.13.00.40, 
1605.20.10.10, and 1605.20.10.30. These HTSUS subheadings are provided 
for convenience and for customs purposes only and are not dispositive, 
but rather the written description of the scope of this order is 
dispositive.

Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review

    Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Act, the Department will 
conduct a changed circumstances review upon receipt of information 
concerning, or a request from an interested party for a review of, an 
antidumping duty order which shows changed circumstances sufficient to 
warrant a review of the order. In accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(d), 
the Department finds there is sufficient information to warrant 
initiating a changed circumstances review. Therefore, pursuant to 
section 751(b)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216(d), we are initiating a 
changed circumstances review to determine whether PFF and Sea Wealth 
should be revoked from the

Thai Shrimp Order

    Although the Rubicon Group has submitted documentation regarding 
the corporate structure of the Rubicon Group and its constituent 
companies, we require additional time to analyze these submissions. 
Accordingly, it would be inappropriate for the

[[Page 12310]]

Department to expedite this action by combining the preliminary results 
of review with this notice of initiation, as permitted under 19 CFR 
351.221(c)(3)(ii). As a result, the Department is not issuing 
preliminary results for this changed circumstances review at this time.
    The Department will publish in the Federal Register a notice of 
preliminary results of changed circumstances review in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.221(b)(4) and 351.221(c)(3)(i), which will set forth the 
Department's preliminary factual and legal conclusions. Pursuant to 19 
CFR 351.221(b)(4)(ii), interested parties will have an opportunity to 
comment on the preliminary results. The Department will issue its final 
results of review in accordance with the time limits set forth in 19 
CFR 351.216(e).
    This notice is in accordance with section 751(b)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: March 18, 2009.
John M. Andersen,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations.
[FR Doc. E9-6438 Filed 3-23-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P