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Information from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reveals that the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced preliminary countervailing duty rates for shrimp imports from Vietnam, India, and Ecuador on March 25, 2024.
Three out of the four largest shrimp suppliers to the U.S. will face preliminary countervailing duties ranging from 1.69% to a maximum of 196%. Meanwhile, Indonesia, the third-largest shrimp supplier to the U.S., has been excluded from the review list. The DOC decided not to impose duties on Indonesian companies, meaning shrimp from Indonesia will not be subject to these duties.
Earlier, the DOC initiated investigations into exporters of frozen warmwater shrimp to the U.S. amid suspicions of massive, unrestricted exports leading to reduced shrimp prices in the U.S. market, violating WTO regulations.
The preliminary countervailing duties will take effect upon publication in the Federal Register, expected in the coming days. This duty will be refunded if investigators determine that importing countries have not violated regulations on illegal subsidies or if imported shrimp does not harm the U.S. shrimp industry.
However, the final decision will not be made until the fall or winter of 2024, meaning importers may have to bear high duties for most of the remaining year.
Specifically, shrimp importers from India will face duties ranging from 4.72% for Devi Sea Foods, 3.89% for Sandhya Aqua Exports, to 4.36% for all other suppliers from India.
Shrimp importers from Ecuador will face duties ranging from 13.41% for Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila, 1.69% for Sociedad Nacional de Galapagos (SONGA), to 7.55% for other suppliers from Ecuador.
For shrimp from Vietnam, duties will range from 2.84% for Stapimex, 196.41% for Thong Thuan Company, to 2.84% for other shrimp product suppliers from Vietnam.
Ecuador, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia are the four countries that the DOC focused on in this review, accounting for 90% of the total 788,209 tons of shrimp imported into the U.S. in 2023.
In the next phase, the DOC will conduct verifications based on the information provided by the Vietnamese Government and businesses. This procedure will be one of the bases for the DOC to issue its final determination, setting the official duties for Vietnamese enterprises.
To protect their interests, Vietnamese businesses should immediately contact reputable law firms specializing in anti-dumping, countervailing, and trade remedy in Vietnam and internationally to carry out tasks such as submitting comments on the DOC’s preliminary determination, preparing rebuttals to comments from other parties, representing the enterprise in hearing sessions to provide information to investigating agencies, and rebutting unreasonable duty proposals.
Interested parties may request a hearing session within 30 days from the date the DOC issues the notice of preliminary determination (March 26, 2024).
The DOC is expected to issue its final determination on subsidies by August 5, 2024 (which may be extended). Subsequently, the U.S. International Trade Commission will issue its final determination on injury within 45 days from the date the DOC issues its final determination.
The notice regarding the DOC’s preliminary determination can be downloaded here.
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