June 18, 2007

India gets global support on its anti-dumping shrimp case in the US

India's shrimp exporters are confident of its US anti-dumping duty case as countries such as Brazil, China, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea have given strong support to the country at the ongoing World Trade Organization (WTO) panel hearing.

Experts say India's support from the countries can influence the final verdict of the WTO hearing which is expected to be handed down by October 2007 in favour of India.

The supporters were also involved in the US anti-dumping duty and a decision siding India can have a positive impact on its marine exports.

In August 2004, the US imposed excessive duties on warm water shrimp exports from India, Thailand, China, Brazil, Vietnam and Ecuador. The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has recently dropped the duty on Ecuador upon WTO's instructions.

The countries have been waiting for a favourable decision to rejuvenate their exports which have been affected by the dumping duty and customs bond.

India has argued that the directive on the customs bond was inconsistent with various articles of the GATT (General Agreements on Tariff and Trade) of 1994, agreements on anti-dumping and subsidies and the Marrakesh Agreement that led to the establishment of the WTO.