[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 160 (Monday, August 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50383-50385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20164]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-560-825]
Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From the Republic of Indonesia:
Final Negative Countervailing Duty Determination
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) determines that
countervailable subsidies are not being provided to producers and/or
exporters of certain frozen warmwater shrimp (frozen shrimp) from the
Republic of Indonesia (Indonesia).
DATES: Effective Date: August 19, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gene Calvert, Jun Jack Zhao, or Emily
Halle, AD/CVD Operations, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3586, (202) 482-1396, or (202) 482-0176, respectively.
Background
The petitioner in this investigation is the Coalition of Gulf
Shrimp Industries (Petitioner).\1\ This investigation covers 28
government programs. In addition to the Government of Indonesia (GOI),
the respondents in this investigation are (1) PT. Central Proteinaprima
and PT. Central Pertiwi Bahari, along with their affiliated companies;
and (2) PT. First Marine Seafoods and its cross-owned affiliate, PT.
Khom Foods.
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\1\ The members of the Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries are:
Bayou Shrimp Processors, Inc.; Bluewater Shrimp Company, Inc.;
Carson & Co., Inc.; C.F. Gollott & Sons Seafood, Inc.; Dean
Blanchard Seafood, Inc.; Dominick Seafood; Fisherman's Reef Packing
Plant; Golden Gulf Coast Pkg. Co., Inc. (and Gollott's Oil Dock &
Ice House); Graham Fisheries, Inc.; Graham Shrimp, Inc.; Gulf Crown
Seafood Co., Inc.; Gulf Fish Inc.; Gulf Island Shrimp & Seafood,
LLC; Gulf Pride Enterprises, Inc.; Hi-Seas of Dulac, Inc.; Indian
Ridge Shrimp Co.; JBS Packing Co., Inc.; Lafitte Frozen Foods Corp.;
M&M Shrimp (Biloxi Freezing and Processing); Ocean Springs Seafood
Market, Inc.; Paul Piazza & Sons, Inc.; R.A. Lesso Brokerage Co.,
Inc.; Sea Pearl Seafood Co., Inc.; Smith and Sons Seafood; Tidelands
Seafood Co., Inc.; Tommy's Seafood; Vincent Piazza & Sons Seafood,
Inc.; Wood's Fisheries; Mariah Jade Shrimp Company, LLC; David
Chauvin's Seafood Company, LLC; and Rountree Enterprises, Inc. (dba
Leonard & Sons Shrimp Co. and R&R Fisheries).
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Period of Investigation
The period for which we are measuring subsidies, or period of
investigation, is January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2011.
Case History
The events that have occurred since the Department published the
Preliminary Determination on June 4, 2013,\2\ are discussed in the
Memorandum to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Import
Administration, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Final Negative
Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain
Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from the Republic of Indonesia'' (Decision
Memorandum), which is dated concurrently with and hereby adopted by
this notice.
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\2\ See Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Indonesia: Negative
Preliminary Countervailing Duty Determination, 78 FR 33349 (June 4,
2013) (Preliminary Determination), and the accompanying Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
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Scope Comments
On March 28, 2013, Petitioner asked the Department to clarify that
the scope of this investigation does not include brine-frozen
shrimp.\3\ We have addressed this request and comments thereon in the
Memorandum to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Import
Administration, ``Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Ecuador, India,
Indonesia, Malaysia, People's Republic of China, Thailand, and
Socialist Republic of Vietnam--Final Scope Memorandum Regarding Onboard
Brine-Frozen Shrimp'' (Scope Memorandum), which is dated concurrently
with and hereby adopted by this notice.
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\3\ See Letter from Petitioner, ``Countervailing Duty
Investigation on Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Indonesia (C-
560-825)--Request for Scope Clarification'' (March 28, 2013).
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are 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, regardless of size. See Appendix
I for a complete description of the scope of this investigation.
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 Decision Memorandum. A list of subsidy programs and
the issues that parties have raised, and to which we responded in the
Decision
[[Page 50384]]
Memorandum, is attached to this notice as Appendix II.
The Decision and Scope Memoranda are public documents and are on
file electronically via IA ACCESS. IA ACCESS is available to registered
users at http://iaaccess.trade.gov and in the Central Records Unit,
room 7046 of the main Department of Commerce building. In addition,
complete versions of the Decision and Scope Memoranda can be accessed
directly on the Internet at http://www.trade.gov/ia/. The signed and
the electronic versions of these memoranda are identical in content.
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Company Subsidy rate (percent)
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PT. Central Pertiwi Bahari, PT. Central 0.23 (de minimis)
Proteinaprima Tbk.
PT. First Marine Seafoods, PT. Khom Foods. 0.27 (de minimis)
All Others................................ 0.25 (de minimis)
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For this final determination, we have calculated de minimis total
net countervailable subsidy rates for the individually investigated
producers/exporters of the subject merchandise . The all others rate is
also de minimis. Therefore, we determine that countervailable subsidies
are not being provided to producers and/or exporters in Indonesia with
respect to frozen shrimp. Because we have reached a final negative
determination, consistent with section 705(c)(2) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act), we are terminating this investigation.
In the Preliminary Determination, the total net countervailable
subsidy rates for the individually examined respondents were de minimis
and, therefore, we did not suspend liquidation.\4\ Because the rates
for the respondents remain de minimis, we are not directing U.S.
Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation of entries of
subject merchandise.
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\4\ See Preliminary Determination, 78 FR 33349.
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International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we will notify the
International Trade Commission of our determination.
Return or Destruction of Proprietary Information
This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information
disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely
written notification of the return or destruction of APO materials, or
conversion to judicial protective order, is hereby requested. Failure
to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a violation that
is subject to sanction.
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
705(d) and 777(i) of the Act.
Dated: August 12, 2013.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are 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,\5\ deveined or not
deveined, cooked or raw, or otherwise processed in frozen form,
regardless of size.
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\5\ ``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, 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. In addition, food preparations
(including dusted shrimp), which are not ``prepared meals,'' that
contain more than 20 percent by weight of shrimp or prawn are also
included in the scope.
Excluded from the scope are: (1) Breaded shrimp and prawns; (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;
(4) shrimp and prawns in prepared meals; (5) dried shrimp and
prawns; (6) canned warmwater shrimp and prawns; and (7) certain
``battered shrimp'' (see below).
``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 10 percent of the product's total weight after being dusted, but
prior to being frozen; and (5) that is subjected to individually
quick frozen (``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 included in the scope of this investigation 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 is dispositive.
Appendix II
Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Subsidy Valuation Information
A. Period of Investigation
B. Allocation Period
C. Attribution of Subsidies
D. Application of Section 771B of the Act
E. Denominators
F. Loan Benchmarks and Discount Rate Benchmarks for Allocating
Non-Recurring Subsidies
IV. Analysis of Programs
A. Programs Determined To Be Countervailable
1. Export Financing from the Indonesia Export-Import Bank
2. Article 31E Income Tax Reduction
B. Programs Determined To Be Not Countervailable
1. Import Duty Exemptions for Raw Materials Imported into Bonded
Zones
2. VAT Exemptions for Raw Materials and Equipment Imported into
Bonded Zones
3. VAT Exemptions for Purchases of Fish Feed
C. Programs Determined To Have Been Not Used By Respondents or
To Not Confer a Benefit During the POI
1. Import Duty Exemptions for Equipment Imported into Bonded
Zones
2. Debt Forgiveness from the Government of Indonesia
3. Government Provision of Loans to the Indonesian Fishing and
Aquaculture Sector
4. Government Loans to the Indonesian Fishing and Aquaculture
Sector through Bank Rakyat Indonesia
5. Government Provision of Electricity to the Indonesian Fishing
and Aquaculture Sector for LTAR
[[Page 50385]]
6. Government Provision of Goods and Services Used to Promote
the Indonesian Fishing and Aquaculture Sector for LTAR
7. Government Provision of Land to the Indonesian Fishing and
Aquaculture Sector for LTAR
8. Government Provision of Shrimp Breeding Stock and Fry for
LTAR
9. Tax Incentives from the Capital Investment Coordinating Board
10. Government Provision of Grants to the Indonesian Fishing and
Aquaculture Sector
11. Government Provision of Grants for the Lampung Shrimp Pond
Project
12. Export Credit Insurance
13. Export Credit Guarantees
14. Export Ban on Raw Shrimp
15. Government Provision of Assistance through the Aquaculture
Intensification (INBUDKAN) Program
16. Government Provision of Assistance through the Fish Culture
Intensification (FCIP) Program
17. Government Provision of Assistance through the
Revitalisation of Aquaculture Development (RPPB) Program
18. Government Provision of Clean Water Facilities to the
Indonesian Fishery Sector for LTAR
19. Government Provision of Fishing Boats for LTAR
20. Government Provision of Cold Storage Facilities for LTAR
21. Government Provision of Shrimp Breeding Stock and Seed for
LTAR
22. Government Loans to Coastal Community Businesses under the
Project of Coastal Community Empowerment/Loans for the Economic
Development of Coastal Communities (PEMP) Program
23. Government Provision of Land to Brackish-Water Aquaculture
Farms for LTAR
V. Analysis of Comments
General Issues
Comment 1: The Application of Section 771B of the Act (the
Agricultural Processing Provision) to Subsidies to Fresh Shrimp
Farmers
Comment 2: The Attribution of Fresh Shrimp Subsidies to
Respondent Processors; Use of a Simple or Weighted Average
Comment 3: The Attribution of Fresh Shrimp Subsidies to
Respondent Processors: Proper Sales Denominator
Cross-Ownership
Comment 4: CPP and the Plasma Farmers
Comment 5: CPP and CWS
Comment 6: Windu Mantap and its Cross-Owned Companies
Debt Forgiveness
Comment 7: CPP's 2001 Restructuring Agreement
Comment 8: CPP's Repayment Terms
Comment 9: Forgiven Loans to CPP's Plasma Farmers
Comment 10: CPP's Investment Commitments for the Shrimp Pond
Revitalization Project
Comment 11: The Indonesia Ex-Im Bank's Waiver for CPP
Export Financing
Comment 12: CPP's Export Financing
Income Tax Reduction
Comment 13: The Article 31E Income Tax Reduction Program
VAT Exemptions for Strategic Goods
Comment 14: VAT Exemptions are Countervailable in their Entirety
Comment 15: Time Value of Money Benefits from VAT Exemptions
Import Duty Exemptions for Bonded Zones
Comment 16: Import Duty Exemptions for Equipment Imported into
Bonded Zones
Comment 17: Import Duty Exemptions for Raw Materials Imported
into Bonded Zones
VAT Exemptions for Bonded Zones
Comment 18: VAT Exemptions for Equipment and Raw Materials
Imported into Bonded Zones
Land
Comment 19: First Marine's Land Lease at the Jakarta Fishery
Port
Comment 20: Land Provided to CPP and CWS by KIM
Creditworthiness
Comment 21: The Department's Preliminary Determination Regarding
CPP's Uncreditworthiness During 2011
Comment 22: Petitioner's Other Uncreditworthiness Allegations
Voluntary Respondents
Comment 23: The Department's Denial of Bumi Menara's Voluntary
Respondent Request
Miscellaneous
Comment 24: CPP's Minor Corrections
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2013-20164 Filed 8-16-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P