Indian Shrimp Exports Take Action Against Anti-dumping Duties

Continued zeroing in on Indian shrimp exports by the US Government has led the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) to urge that India's Government take the US to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Two shrimp Indian exporters recently lodged a complaint in the US Court of International Trade challenging a Department of Commerce (DOC) anti-dumping duty review that purportedly relies on unjust calculations.

Falcon Marine Exports Ltd and Apex Exports said DOC improperly used zeroing to calculate dumping margins for setting duties on imported frozen warmwater shrimp.

The suit came in response to the agency's findings: following an administrative review, it assessed a 2.31 per cent dumping margin against Apex and a 1.36 per cent margin against Falcon in July, Law360 reports.

In mid-July, the WTO determined that the US's method of zeroing to impose anti-dumping duties on shrimp imported from Vietnam violates global trade rules. A three-member WTO panel argued that the US had "acted inconsistently with the provisions of the anti-dumping duty and the GATT" and that the US should bring its calculation method in line with the two agreements.

Last March, the US International Trade Commission (USITC) voted to continue import duties on shrimp imported from Thailand, China, Vietnam, Brazil and India for another five years – a decision WTO ruled illegal under international trade rules.

Although nearly 90 per cent of shrimp export consignments would fetch a fair value in competing countries, the remainder might fetch significantly lower rates for a variety of reasons, an exporter explained. The US Government zeroes in on the consignments of that 10 per cent remainder and imposes anti-dumping duties on it, much to the detriment of the exporter who has already had to sell his or her consignment at distress rates, Business Line reports.

Many shrimp exporting countries including Brazil, Ecuador and Thailand have taken the US to the WTO and won. China did so in February.

With the WTO's favourable judgment, these countries would be eligible for duty refund with retrospective effect, according to exporters.

"It is high time the Government of India woke up to this central need of the fishing industry," said Anwar Hashim, president of SEAI.

India's petition would be facilitated due to the WTO's history of judgments siding with the countries going after the US, Hashim opined.

It would take around two years for the WTO to give its final ruling.

This year's anti-dumping duty on Indian shrimp exports stands at 1.69 per cent, while last year's was at 2.27 per cent and 2009's was 0.79 per cent.

SEAI noted that Indian shrimp exports would have been out of the purview of anti-dumping duty several years ago if DOC had not resorted to the practice of zeroing.