December 24, 2004

 

 

Vietnam Relieved At US Shrimp Tariffs On Other Countries

 

Vietnam's shrimp industry is breathing a sigh of relief after the US slapped anti-dumping duties on shrimp imports from four other countries.

 

The general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, Nguyen Huu Dung, said it would be easier for Vietnam's shrimp exporters to compete in the US market following the Department of Commerce's final decision to impose penal duties on the four remaining countries, India, Ecuador, Brazil and Thailand.

 

The department on Monday slapped duties of 5.02 to 13.42 percent on Indian exporters, 2.35 to 4.48 percent for Ecuador, 9.69 to 67.8 percent for Brazil and 6 to 10 percent for Thailand.

 

Earlier, on November 31, the department had announced anti-dumping duties of 4.13 to 25.76 percent for Vietnam and up to 112.81 percent for China.

 

Thai businesses did not fare as well compared with the other countries; their rates were down by only 6.39 to 6.03 percent, which rates for Brazil, India, Ecuador and Vietnam are significantly lower than the previous level.

 

With 93 per cent of Vietnamese shrimp exporters having to pay a duty of roughly 4 to 5 percent, experts think Thai shrimp exporters will lose out to them.

 

Of the six original defendants India, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Ecuador and Brazil only China was slapped with high duties to keep them out of much of the US market, a source revealed.

 

Though the exporters in the five remaining countries would face varying impacts with higher costs for some, it was not severe enough to prevent them from competing in the US if they wanted to, it added further.

 

The shrimp task force said the decision would not raise the overall price of shrimp in the US by a significant level. A few percentage points change in cost would not be enough to add a per pound cost of US$0.5 to 1 to the price of shrimp.

 

"If the US economy continues to grow, we expect that total shrimp imports to the US in 2005 will be greater than the amount in 2004," the task force forecast.

 

The cases against all six countries will go back to the US International Trade Commission early next year for a final ruling on whether shrimp imports are harming the domestic industry. If, as expected, the commission upholds its preliminary finding of harm, the anti-dumping tariffs will become final.