Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 6 • Number 11 • 16th June 2006
India Files Request for WTO Consultation with the US on Shrimp
Discuss this articleShare your views with other visitors, and read what they have to say
On 12 June, India requested WTO consultations with the US over bonds that importers of Indian shrimp have to deposit with US customs authorities. India’s filing is based on antidumping measures imposed by the US in February 2005 on frozen warmwater shrimp from India and other countries (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 28 April 2006). Under an amendment to the US Customs anti-dumping directive, which covers shrimp and other agricultural and aquaculture goods, importers of the products have to give the US government money (”bond”) that amounts to a certain percentage of the value of the past 12 months of the targeted imports, and the US government would hold the cash for one year. The amount prescribed by the formula is much higher than the previous rules, which required only a bond amounting to 10 percent of the duties, taxes and fees paid by the importer annually. In its request to the WTO, India claims that the measures under the amended directive are in violation of the WTO Anti-Dumping and Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreements as well as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The Indian request follows an earlier legal action on the shrimp anti-dumping duties by Thailand and Ecuador against the US use of a ‘zeroing’ methodology to calculate anti-dumping duties and its bond requirement. Reportedly, Ecuador is next in the line of countries to contest the US imposition of antidumping duties and high bond requirements for shrimp. Their request for consultations is expected at the 19 June meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).
ICTSD Reporting.
Add a comment
Enter your details and a comment below, then click Submit Comment. We’ll review and publish the best comments.