January 20, 2006

Vietnam seeks India's help to bring down US shrimp tariff

India and Vietnam should work together to bring down US duties on shrimp exports, Vietnamese deputy trade minister Tran Duc Minh said in a report to Expressindia on Thursday.

Minh said both countries were major exporters of shrimp and the duty imposed proves that the US was being protectionist.

US shrimp farmers were much richer than Vietnamese and Indian farmers, Minh pointed out, emphasising that efforts should be aimed towards helping the poor.

The anti-dumping duty will be reviewed by the US International Trade Commission in February this year.

An anti-dumping duty of 10 percent on Indian shrimp and tariffs ranging from 9.13 percent to 25.76 percent on Vietnam's exports have been in effect since January 2005.

Minh said Vietnamese and Indian shrimps were rightly priced and questioned the commission's decision to impose the tariffs.

While Vietnam intends to lobby the commission on tariffs, shrimp farmers in Thailand have reason to cheer as Thai exports to the UK are rising.

The Trade Promotion Office in London reported that in the first six months of last year, the UK imported a total of US$233 million worth of fresh and frozen shrimps and another US$210 million worth of processed shrimps. Most UK department stores and retail stores sold medium- and small-sized shrimps.

As most UK importers place more importance on quality rather than price, Thai exporters were urged to pay more attention to hygiene and quality issues especially since the UK had altered some of its food safety regulations earlier this year.