September 24, 2013
Countervailing duties on shrimp exports to US lifted
In a divided vote, the ITC ruled that the Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industry, the complainant, failed to present a strong enough case that it suffered from cheap imports of frozen shrimp from these five nations. This also marks the end of the countervailing duty investigations started at the request of the Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries (COGSI).
The vote follows the US Department of Commerce's negative countervailable subsidy determinations with respect to the Thai and Indonesian shrimp industries, the largest and third-largest suppliers of shrimp to the American market respectively.
India's seafood exports, including frozen shrimps, stood at US$3.5 billion in the 2012/13 fiscal year according to industry estimates. About a fifth of the exports were to the United States. The United States International Trade Commission imposed a 5.85% countervailing duty on Indian shrimp exports last year in response to alleged price advantages enjoyed by Indian exporters due to government subsidies.
The US Commerce Department imposed a countervailing duty of 11.68% on the imports of Ecuadorian shrimp in August last year. According to National Aquaculture Chamber (CAN), 37% of Ecuadorian shrimp exports are directed to the US market, which represents about US$60 million per year. Ecuadorian shrimp producer organisations said that moving forward, they will seek reimbursement of fees packing firms imposed on them, local media reported.
The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) stated that the USITC's findings confirm that Vietnamese shrimp exporters have been operating under market mechanism and have not received any government subsidies.
The reasons underlying the Commission's negative vote will be released to the public in October. In its investigation, the Commission analysed the condition of the domestic shrimp industry since 2010. The record developed by the agency showed that domestic processors had built additional production capacity, increased production, increased the number of workers employed in the sector and, even accounting for those new workers, increased productivity since 2010.
