March 4, 2013

 

 

In order to resolve the issue of the US' anti-dumping measures against imports of certain frozen warm-water Vietnamese shrimp, the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) was requested by the Vietnamese representatives in Geneva this week to organise a panel.

 

This is Vietnam's first time ever requesting a panel since it joined the WTO -- and the request is being made only after careful consideration and consultations with the US, Ambassador Vu Dung stressed.

 

Vietnam's request comes after the US International Trade Commission (USITC) decided there is a reasonable indication that the US shrimping industry is being materially injured by reason shrimp imports from China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, whose governments allegedly subsidise shrimp production.

 

"The central issue involved in our request for a panel is the issue of zeroing and, specifically zeroing in periodic reviews under US law. In our view, this issue has been decided already by WTO panels and the Appellate Body on various occasions," he stated.

 

"Yet, the US has failed to implement the reports of the Appellate Body and has continued to apply zeroing in administrative reviews, including those applied to products of Vietnam," he continued, VNA reports.

 

Dung stated that the US has, over the second, third and fourth reviews, refused to specifically investigate major exporters that have asked for reviews, and has done this even though it has been unable to find margins of dumping in any of these three reviews of the companies specifically investigated. The US has kept on assigning margins of dumping to companies that are not being investigated despite their request to be reviewed.

 

"The US is clearly abusing the exceptions provided for in Article 6.10 and Article 9.4 by refusing throughout this proceeding to allow companies that are not dumping to demonstrate this through being investigated," he accused.

 

Dung noted that the US has also found dumping margins in determining a "Vietnam-wide rate" for exporting companies that have not answered questionnaires -- and that it remains uncertain at this point whether these companies actually exist, produce or export shrimp or should even be subject to the antidumping measures.

 

"There is no such authority for this so-called Vietnam wide rate in either the Antidumping Agreement or Vietnam's Protocol of Accession to the WTO," he said.

 

Vietnam and the US met for consultations in Geneva in 2010, but no resolution was reached.

 

"Consequently, Vietnam has no choice but to pursue these issues to a panel," Dung added.

 

Countries registered to be third parties at the meeting include the EU, China, Japan, Norway and Thailand, VOV reports.