September 13, 2013

US lifts anti-dumping duty on Vietnamese shrimps

The US Department of Commerce has removed the 4.7% anti-dumping tax, which had been in place since 2004, on Vietnamese shrimps imports and will be applied for two years until a new review is made.

The good news was announced after the department completed a review of anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese product from February 1, 2011, to January 31, 2012.

The anti-dumping tax was imposed after a review of imports from 2004-06 and since then, seven reviews have been carried out.

This is the first time that the US has acknowledged that no Vietnamese shrimps are being dumped. Accordingly, all 33 Vietnamese shrimp exporters will now enjoy a zero tax rate on shrimp products exported to the US.

The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) said that due to its size and diversity, export shrimps and shrimp products were popular in the US.

In January-July of this year, Viet Nam earned US$337.6 million from shrimp exports to the US. This was 24% of the country's total shrimp exports of US$1.4 billion.

Meanwhile, the country's shrimp exports to other markets have increased significantly. Sales to Japan are up 11% and to the EU up 3% compared with the same period last year.

In a message issued Wednesday (Sep 11), VASEP confirmed that Vietnamese shrimp businesses have been operating under a market economy mechanism and received no state subsidies.