US upholds anti-dumping duties on shrimp from 4 Asian sources

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) will continue to enforce an anti-dumping duty on frozen warm-water shrimp imported from China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In an announcement released on Thursday, the USITC said revoking the existing anti-dumping duty orders would likely “lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time”.

The action came under the five-year (sunset) review process required by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. The act requires the removal of antidumping or countervailing duty orders after five years unless the U.S. Department of Commerce and the USITC determine such removal could lead to dumping or subsidies and material injury.

The U.S. initiated an anti-dumping investigation against warm-water shrimp imported from Vietnam in 2004, and set a tax rate of 4.3%-25.76% starting January 2005. In July 2016, the Department of Commerce revoked the anti-dumping order on Minh Phu, a major shrimp seller in Vietnam.

In August 2019, the department announced the results of the 13th period of review (POR13) with a 0% tax rate for 31 Vietnamese shrimp exporters, including major firms such as Minh Phu Group and CP Vietnam.

Shrimp is a major export staple of Vietnam’s fisheries sector. In 2022, the fisheries sector earned export revenue of $11 billion, up 23% year-on-year and exceeding the target of $10 billion, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Of which, shrimp accounted for $4.3 billion, up 11% and accounting for the biggest portion of 39.5%. Additionally, the U.S. was Vietnam’s biggest export destination for fisheries with a total revenue of $2 billion, up 10% against 2021.