US unveils anti-subsidy duties on Vietnamese shrimp
Vietnam, one of the largest suppliers of farmed shrimp to the United States, will have to pay preliminary countervailing duties (CVD) from 1.69% to 196%, starting this weekend, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.
Shrimp products from two other suppliers – India and Ecuador – will be also subject to the new tax rate unveiled by the US Department of Commerce (DOC) on March 26.
The anti-subsidy tax rate will take effect as soon as the DOC publishes relevant information in the Federal Register, which is expected to take place in the next few days.
The duties will be refunded providing the investigators determine that the importing countries are not guilty of providing illegal subsidies, or if the subsidised imports did not harm the US shrimp industry.
However, a final ruling will not be made until autumn or winter this year, meaning that importers will likely be subject to the cost of tax deposits on shrimp exports in the remainder period of the year.
Furthermore, the US side also required deposits of 2.84% and 196.41% for shrimp imported from Soc Trang Seafood Joint Stock Company (Stapimex) and Thong Thuan Seafood Company, respectively, and a 2.84% deposit for products from all other Vietnamese suppliers.
India, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Vietnam are the DOC’s four target countries in this review, accounting for 90% of the total 788,209 tonnes of shrimp imported into the US last year.
Meanwhile, Indonesia, the third largest shrimp supplier to the US, has been removed from the review list.
