US extends anti-dumping duties on Vietnam frozen shrimp

The existing duties on the import of shrimp products from Viet Nam, China, Thailand and India will remain for another five years — Photo vtv.vn

As a result, existing duties on the import of shrimp products from Viet Nam, China, Thailand and India will remain for another five years. Only Brazilian shrimp exports are fortunate to overcome this "barrier."

"The revoking of the existing anti-dumping duty orders on the import of frozen warmwater shrimp from China, India, Thailand and Viet Nam would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time," according to an official statement of the commission.

This verdict is the outcome of the second five-year sunset review asking the United States’ Department of Commerce (DoC) to revoke an anti-dumping or countervailing duty.

USITC’s decision has provoked different reactions.

Southern Shrimp Alliance’s executive director John Williams praised ITC’s decision as good news for the United States shrimp industry, then emphasised that if countries were subject to anti-dumping duties focusing on "fair trade," the barriers would be lifted.

He also explained anti-dumping orders have not been extended to Brazil because this South American country has not exported shrimp to the United States for a very long time.

The American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) also welcomed the extension of the anti-dumping orders by USITC on shrimp from China, India, Thailand and Viet Nam for an additional five years.

However, representatives of the United States’ major wholesalers, such as the Performance Food Group, Costco and Publix Super Markets, which consume some 100,000 tonnes of shrimp per year, argued that expansion of anti-dumping duties should not be imposed on the import of frozen shrimp, according to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Washington.

Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has forecast that shrimp export would reach US$3.4 billion in 2017, up 9 per cent from last year.