May 9, 2013

Thailand may avoid high tariffs on its future shrimp exports to the United States after it produced evidence that it was not involved in dumping practices alleged by the US.

Pranee Siriphand, director-general to the Foreign Trade Department said that Thai frozen shrimp exports to the US faced a more positive future, following Thailand's efforts to provide clear documentation against the US-imposed countervailing duties (CVD) on Thai shrimp.

The US alleges Thailand subsidised exported shrimp in 13 cases. However, Siriphand said that Thailand had already sent clear documentation to the Office of the US Trade Representative, protesting against the tariff.

She said that although Thailand faced countervailing duties, the tariff was much lower compared with other countries named in the US investigation.

The US alleges that the Thai government subsidised the shrimp industry in a number of areas, including the price and financial support for farmers, in the form of soft loans. It also claims the Board of Investment of Thailand has provided active support to shrimp manufacturers.

The anti-dumping duty on Thai shrimp by the US has been in effect since 2005. The Thai government and exporters are keen to have the tariff reduced, in order to make shrimp exports more competitive.

The US is the biggest export market for Thai shrimp, with shrimp exports valued at THB45 billion (US$1.52 billion) a year, accounting for 45 %of total shrimp exports.

On May 28, the US is scheduled to announce its investigation on frozen shrimp imports and whether or not it intends to impose countervailing duties against a number of export countries, including Thailand, China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Ecuador.