Frozen Warmwater Shrimp: New AD/CVD Investigations Deadlines & Scope

The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador (A-331-805) and Indonesia (A-560-842), and its countervailing duty investigations on frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador (C-331-806), India (C-533-921), Indonesia (C-560-843) and Vietnam (A-552-838). The CVD investigations cover entries for the calendar year 2022. The AD investigations cover entries Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023.

The International Trade Commission will conduct a concurrent investigation to determine whether imports of dumped and illegally subsidized lithographic printing plates are injuring U.S. industry. If the ITC finds no injury in its preliminary injury determination, due Dec. 11, the investigations will immediately end. If Commerce finds dumping or illegal subsidization in the preliminary determinations of these investigations, due in January for CVD and April for AD, it will set AD and/or CVD cash deposit requirements for imports of merchandise subject to the investigation. If both Commerce and the ITC reach affirmative final determinations, Commerce will issue an AD and/or CVD order making duties permanent and beginning a process of annual administrative reviews to set final assessments of AD/CVD on importers and potentially change AD/CVD cash deposit rates.

AD/CVD Respondent Selection

Commerce said it will pick respondents to these investigations based on CBP import data. Comments are due Nov. 27.

Scope of the AD/CVD Investigations

“The scope of these investigations 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. “Tails” in this context means the tail fan, which includes the telson and the uropods.

“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, 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 (HTSUS subheading 1605.21.1020); (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 0306.36.0020 and 0306.36.0040); (4) shrimp and prawns in prepared meals (HTSUS subheadings 1605.21.0500 and 1605.29.0500); (5) dried shrimp and prawns; (6) canned warmwater shrimp and prawns (HTSUS subheading 1605.29.1040); and (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 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 covered by the scope are currently classified under the following HTSUS subheadings: 0306.17.0004, 0306.17.0005, 0306.17.0007, 0306.17.0008, 0306.17.0010, 0306.17.0011, 0306.17.0013, 0306.17.0014, 0306.17.0016, 0306.17.0017, 0306.17.0019, 0306.17.0020, 0306.17.0022, 0306.17.0023, 0306.17.0025, 0306.17.0026, 0306.17.0028, 0306.17.0029, 0306.17.0041, 0306.17.0042, 1605.21.1030, and 1605.29.1010.

“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.”

Comments on the scope of these investigations are due by 5 p.m. EST Dec. 4.

Investigations Timetable

These deadlines may be, and usually are, extended. The Commerce Department fact sheet on the initiation of these investigations is (here).