July 7, 2004

US Ruling Expected On Shrimp Dumping Tariffs

The U.S. Commerce Department is expected to issue a preliminary ruling today on whether shrimp from China and Vietnam has been dumped at unfair prices on the U.S. market.

Shrimpers from Mississippi and seven other states in the Southern Shrimp Alliance say they are optimistic of a favorable ruling. The shrimp fleet and processors have been in the midst of a crisis since 2001 when prices plummeted.

They say they are competing with a flood imports that now make up 87 % of the market. The petitioners say that dumping margins between 113 %percent and 263 % apply to China, and that margins between 26 % and 93 % should be slapped on Vietnam.