Courtesy of seafoodnews.com:
India’s shrimp industry is taking another hit this week. But they are not alone. It’s been confirmed that India, as well as Ecuador and
Vietnam, will be forced to pay preliminary countervailing duties (CVD) on shrimp.
The Department of Commerce (DOC) announced its preliminary affirmative determinations in the CVD investigations of frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador, India and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The DOC confirmed a negative determination in the CVD investigation of shrimp from Indonesia.
For the preliminary subsidy rates, Ecuador exporter/ producer Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila has been slapped with the largest subsidy rate at 13.41%. Santa Priscila has not commented on the preliminary subsidy rate, but Jose Antonio Camposano, Executive President of industry association Camara Nacional de Acuacultura, told Undercurrent News that they believe it is “likely to be an error in the calculation.”
Sociedad Nacional de Galápagos has a subsidy rate of 1.69%, while “all others” in Ecuador have a subsidy rate of 7.55%.
Looking at India, exporter/producer Devi Sea Foods Limited has been handed a subsidy rate of 4.72%. Sandhya Aqua Exports, Neeli Sea Foods Private Limited, Vijay Aqua Processors Private Limited and Neeli Aqua Farms all have been determined to have a subsidy rate of 3.89%. “All others” in India have a subsidy rate of 4.36%.
Out of Vietnam, Soc Trang Seafood Joint Stock Company and “all others” have a subsidy rate of 2.84%.
The decision follows an October 2023 trade petition filed by the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) seeking antidumping duties on imported frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador and Indonesia, and countervailing duties on imported shrimp from Ecuador, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
ASPA said in a news release at the time that the U.S. shrimp market has “been overwhelmed by massive quantities of underpriced shrimp imports, resulting in unsustainably low dockside prices, falling domestic market share, significantly lower profit margins, and historically high inventory levels.” To counteract this, the ASPA filed petitions on behalf of the domestic shrimp harvesting and processing sectors.
To share some insight on shrimp imports over the past few years, the DOC released the following chart of import statistics for Ecuador, India, Indonesia and Vietnam:
By mid-December the International Trade Commission issued a determination on frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. The notice stated, “On On the basis of the record developed in the subject investigations, the United States International Trade Commission (“Commission”) determines, pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930 (“the Act”), that there is a reasonable indication that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of imports of frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador and Indonesia provided for in subheadings 0306.17.00, 1605.21.10, and 1605.29.10 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, that are alleged to be sold in the United States at less than fair value (“LTFV”) and imports of the subject merchandise from Ecuador, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam that are alleged to be subsidized by the governments of Ecuador, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.” The notice can be found here.
The latest information released is only Commerce’s preliminary determination. Commerce now has to verify the information that was submitted by the foreign producers and government. Once the verification process is complete, the Department will issue its final determination. That report is scheduled to be released on August 5, 2024.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock/ Paulose NK