Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 6 • Number 6 • 3rd April 2006

Shrimp Exporters to Undergo US Duty Review

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The US Department of Commerce (DoC) on 3 April released a list of companies that could be exempted from US anti-dumping duties on shrimp imports into the US. Dozens of exporting companies from Brazil, China, Ecuador, India, Thailand and Vietnam were said to have applied to be put on the list for consideration of administrative review of the duties that were imposed in January 2005. According to the review process, any company exporting shrimp to the US in any of the six countries subject to the duties was eligible to notify the DoC by 28 February that it would like its duty reviewed. Owing to the length of the list, the DoC will soon decide whether to narrow down the number of companies to be subject to a new assessment by randomly selecting companies from the list, or choosing the three largest companies. Firstly, though, it has asked all companies listed to fill out a detailed questionnaire on their costs and business practices, so that an evaluation can determine whether the company is still exporting at below cost (”dumping”). If the findings of the selected companies show that dumping has been reduced or has ended, the duties will be decreased or stopped; conversely, if the findings show that dumping has increased, the duties for that company would increase. The Southern Shrimp Alliance, the group of US shrimp farmers that originally filed the petition to the US government asking it to impose punitive tariffs against dumped imports, has told Commerce that it would like all companies in all countries to be reviewed as it believes that dumping continues to take place and that duties should in fact be increased.

In November 2005, the International Trade Commission decided not to revoke its anti-dumping tariffs on shrimp from India and Thailand following the December 2004 tsunami, arguing that doing so would harm the US shrimp industry (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 11 November 2005). Consultations between Ecuador and the US on the duties continue under the WTO dispute process, with sources suggesting that negotiators were bringing up the issue during ongoing talks on a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 25 November 2005).

The list (also known as “initiation”) for Brazil, Ecuador, India and Thailand can be found at http://www.ia.ita.doc.gov/download/shrimp/me-initiation.pdf and for China and Vietnam at http://www.ia.ita.doc.gov/download/shrimp/nme-initiation.pdf

ICTSD Reporting; “Shrimp exporters urge US to review anti-dumping duty,” THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS, 2 March 2006; “Vietnamese shrimp exporters follow US anti-dumping case,” CHINA VIEW, 2 March 2006; “Shrimpers demand a fair deal from US,” THAI DAY, 9 March 2006; “US dumping duty on shrimp to be taken up,” AJAYAN, 12 March 2006; “Shrimp exporters map strategies,” VNECONOMY, 24 February 2006.