July 23, 2004

US Investigation Of Thai Shrimp Dumping Allegations To Commence Soon

The US government's investigation into allegations of Thai shrimp dumping is scheduled to start at the end of this month, Thailand's Minister of Commerce, Watana Muangsook revealed. It is expected to be completed by the end of January next year.

Thailand has been under investigation by the US government since January this year, along with China, Vietnam, India, Brazil and Ecuador.

US shrimp producers in six states have accused various kinds of Thai shrimp products, including frozen and canned shrimp as well as frozen shrimp dishes, of being sold in the US at an unacceptably low price. They accuse the Thai exporters of dumping the products on the US market and damaging the local industry.

US investigators are scheduled to visit Thailand and inspect each Thai shrimp export to gather information by the end of October. However, the preliminary rate of anti-dumping tax is scheduled to be announced on 28 July.

The government has been working closely with Thai exporters, according to Mr. Watana. Documents supporting the Thai exporters and showing they did not violate US anti-dumping laws have already been distributed widely in the US.

"We have got strong support from a group of US senators, and they have issued letters to the US Anti-dumping commission asking them to carefully and fairly investigate," the minister said.

The value of shrimp exports in the first five months of this year has fallen by nearly twenty per cent compared to the same period last year. This is the equivalent of more than twenty-two billion baht.

The Department of Export Promotion and representatives of the private sector are working together to try to increase shrimp exports to high-potential markets including Canada, South Korea and Singapore to compensate for the loss of the US market because of the investigation.