[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 197 (Friday, October 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61290-61291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24277]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-533-840]


Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From India: Initiation and 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In response to a request by Premier Marine Products Private 
Limited (PPL), a producer/exporter of certain frozen warmwater shrimp 
(shrimp) from India, and pursuant to section 751(b) of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, as amended (the Act), 19 CFR 351.216 and 351.221(c)(3)(ii), 
the Department of Commerce (the Department) is initiating a changed 
circumstances review (CCR) of the antidumping duty (AD) order on shrimp 
from India with regards to PPL. Based on the information received, we 
preliminarily determine that PPL is the successor-in-interest to 
Premier Marine Products (PMP) for purposes of determining AD liability. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Effective Date: October 10, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Blaine Wiltse or Stephen Banea, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
6345 or (202) 482-0656, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On February 1, 2005, the Department published in the Federal 
Register the AD order on shrimp from India.\1\ Effective April 8, 2013, 
PMP, a producer/exporter of Indian shrimp covered by this order, 
converted from a partnership company to a private limited company, 
under the definition in Indian law and, as part of this conversion, it 
changed its name to PPL.\2\ On August 22, 2014, PPL requested \3\ that 
the Department conduct an expedited CCR to determine that it is the 
successor-in-interest to PMP, for the purpose of being assigned PMP's 
cash deposit rate, as a part of the Liberty Group of companies.\4\ We 
received no comments opposing PPL's request.
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    \1\ See Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value and Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Frozen Warmwater 
Shrimp from India, 70 FR 5147 (Feb. 1, 2005) (Shrimp Order).
    \2\ See Letter from Premier Marine Private Limited, dated August 
22, 2014 (CCR Request).
    \3\ Id.
    \4\ PMP received a 2.49 percent dumping margin as part of the 
Liberty Group in the 2012-2013 administrative review of the AD order 
on shrimp from India. See Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From 
India: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 
2012-2013, 79 FR 51309 (Aug. 28, 2014) (Shrimp Review).
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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, 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 (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 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 ten 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. 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 this order are currently classified under 
the following HTSUS subheadings: 0306.17.00.03, 0306.17.00.06, 
0306.17.00.09, 0306.17.00.12, 0306.17.00.15, 0306.17.00.18, 
0306.17.00.21, 0306.17.00.24, 0306.17.00.27, 0306.17.00.40, 
1605.21.10.30, and 1605.29.10.10. 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 and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review

    Pursuant to section 751(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216(d), 
the Department will conduct a CCR upon receipt of a request from an 
interested party for a review of an AD order which shows changed 
circumstances sufficient to warrant a review of the order. The 
information submitted by PPL supporting its claim that it is the 
successor-in-interest to PMP

[[Page 61291]]

demonstrates changed circumstances sufficient to warrant such a 
review.\5\
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    \5\ See 19 CFR 351.216(d); see also Notice and Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review: Carbon and 
Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Mexico, 75 FR 67685 (Nov. 3, 
2010).
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    In accordance with the above-referenced regulation, the Department 
is initiating a CCR to determine whether PPL is the successor-in-
interest to PMP. In determining whether one company is the successor-
in-interest to another, the Department examines a number of factors 
including, but not limited to, changes in management, production 
facilities, supplier relationships, and customer base.\6\ While no 
single factor or combination of these factors will necessarily provide 
a dispositive indication of a successor-in-interest relationship, the 
Department will generally consider the new company to be the successor 
to the previous company if the new company's resulting operation is not 
materially dissimilar to that of its predecessor.\7\ Thus, if the 
evidence demonstrates that, with respect to the production and sale of 
the subject merchandise, the new company operates as the same business 
entity as the prior company, the Department will assign the new company 
the cash deposit rate of its predecessor.\8\
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    \6\ See Notice of Initiation and Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review: Certain Frozen 
Warmwater Shrimp From Thailand, 75 FR 61702, 61703 (Oct. 6, 2010) 
(Shrimp from Thailand) (unchanged in Notice of Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review: Certain Frozen 
Warmwater Shrimp From Thailand, 75 FR 74684 (Dec. 1, 2010); 
Industrial Phosphoric Acid From Israel; Final Results of Antidumping 
Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 59 FR 6944 (Feb. 14, 1994).
    \7\ See Shrimp from Thailand, 75 FR at 61703.
    \8\ Id.; see also Notice of Final Results of Changed 
Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: 
Polychloroprene Rubber From Japan, 67 FR 58 (Jan. 2, 2002); and Ball 
Bearings and Parts Thereof from France: Final Results of Changed-
Circumstances Review, 75 FR 34688 (June 10, 2010).
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    In its August 22, 2014, submission, PPL provided information to 
demonstrate that it is the successor-in-interest to PMP. PPL states 
that the company's management, production facilities and customer/
supplier relationships have not changed as a result of its conversion 
to a private limited company. To support its claims, PPL submitted the 
following documents: (1) PMP's partnership deed from 1986; (2) PPL's 
new partnership deed from 2013; (3) the particulars of PPL's capital 
shares and percent of shareholdings for each partner; (4) the 
certificate of incorporation; (5) the Memorandum of Association and 
Articles of Association of PPL showing details of the partnership; (6) 
PMP's and PPL's certificates issued by the Export Inspection Council of 
India showing the same address for the production facility; (7) a list 
of the suppliers of PMP before, and PPL after, the conversion to a 
private limited company; (8) a list of the customers of PMP before, and 
PPL after, the conversion; and, (9) a list of the employees of PMP 
before, and PPL after, the conversion.
    Based on the evidence on the record, we preliminarily find that PPL 
is the successor-in-interest to PMP. We find that, while PPL expanded 
to seven partners from two after its conversion to a private limited 
company, the original two partners retained a majority stake in PPL and 
no managers or other employees changed as a result of the 
conversion.\9\ As a result, we find that PPL operates as the same 
business entity as PMP. Moreover, PPL: (1) Retained the same production 
facility as PMP; \10\ (2) continued to purchase raw shrimp from a 
majority of the same suppliers as PMP; \11\ and (3) continued to supply 
the same U.S. customers.\12\ Therefore, we also find that the 
production facility, supplier relationships, and customers have not 
changed as a result of PMP's conversion to PPL. Thus, we preliminarily 
find that PPL should receive the same AD deposit rate (i.e., 2.49 
percent) with respect to the subject merchandise as PMP, its 
predecessor company.
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    \9\ See CCR Request, at 7 and 10.
    \10\ Id.
    \11\ Id. at 9.
    \12\ Id.
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    When it concludes that expedited action is warranted, the 
Department may publish the notice of initiation and preliminary results 
for a CCR concurrently.\13\ We have determined that expedition of this 
CCR is warranted because we have the information necessary to make a 
preliminary finding already on the record.\14\ Should our final results 
remain the same as these preliminary results, effective the date of 
publication of the final results, we will instruct U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection to suspend entries of subject merchandise produced or 
exported by PPL at PMP's cash deposit rate (i.e., 2.49 percent), 
effective on the publication date of our final results.
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii); see also Initiation and 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances 
Review: Canned Pineapple Fruit from Thailand, 69 FR 30878 (June 1, 
2004).
    \14\ See Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from Japan: Initiation 
and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review, 71 FR 14679 
(Mar. 23, 2006).
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Public Comment

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), any interested party may request a 
hearing within 14 days of publication of this notice.\15\ Parties will 
be notified of the time and date of any hearing, if requested. 
Interested parties may submit case briefs and/or written comments not 
later than 14 days after the publication of this notice. Rebuttal 
briefs, and rebuttals to written comments, which must be limited to 
issues raised in such briefs or comments, may be filed not later than 
21 days after the date of publication of this notice. Parties who 
submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this changed circumstance 
review are requested to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of 
the issue; and (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities. Interested parties who wish to comment on the preliminary 
results must file briefs electronically using Enforcement and 
Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic 
Service System (IA ACCESS). IA ACCESS is available to registered users 
at http://iaaccess.trade.gov. An electronically-filed document must be 
received successfully in its entirety by the Department's electronic 
records system, IA ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the date the 
document is due.
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    \15\ See 19 CFR 351.303 for general filing requirements.
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    Consistent with 19 CFR 351.216(e), we intend to issue the final 
results of this changed circumstance review no later than 270 days 
after the date on which this review was initiated, or within 45 days of 
publication of these preliminary results if all parties agree to our 
preliminary finding.
    We are issuing and publishing this finding and notice in accordance 
with sections 751(b)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216 and 
351.221(c)(3)(ii).

    Dated: October 6, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2014-24277 Filed 10-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P