WTO to set up panel over Vietnam-US shrimp dispute

The World Trade Organisation said it will set up a dispute settlement panel to examine Vietnam's allegation that the US is "zeroing" when calculating anti-dumping duties on frozen shrimp imports.

This is the first trade dispute to involve Vietnam since it became the global trade body's 150th member in Nov 2007, according to reports.

In a complaint filed with the WTO in Feb this year, Vietnam claims that the "zeroing" practices artificially inflate anti-dumping duties and thus violate international trade rules.

The US is imposing anti-dumping duties ranging from 2.5% to 25.76% on frozen shrimp imported from Vietnam.