The Hindu Business Line : US dumping duty on Indian shrimps to stay

Subsequent to the December 26 tsunami that devastated vast areas of the Indian coastline, aquaculture farms, boats and fishing gear, the ITC had launched a "Changed Circumstances Review" in April, to determine whether the anti-dumping duty on shrimp imports from India and Thailand should continue.

Following the review, the Commission, in a 6-0 ruling on Wednesday, said: "Revoking the existing orders would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury" to the US shrimp industry. Shrimp remains the number one seafood consumed in the US, and 90 per cent of it is still imported.

Reacting to the ruling, Mr Abraham Tharakan, President of the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), said: "It is a very disappointing decision for Indian exporters. A few countries have been penalised for what has been a technological breakthrough of bringing down costs through aquaculture. Despite the imposition of anti-dumping duties on these countries, shrimp imports into the US markets from third countries continue to surge and the prices have plunged further instead of firming up."

Following complaints from the Southern Shrimp Alliance, a loose confederation of shrimp producers and processors from Southern US states, the ITC panel had determined on January 6 that along with India and Thailand, countries such as China, Vietnam, Brazil and Ecuador were also dumping shrimp at unfair prices in the US markets, resulting in the imposition of punitive tariffs.

In a statement, Mr Joey Rodriquez, President of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, said the ITC properly concluded that the tsunami did not significantly impact the ability of the shrimp industries in India and Thailand to produce and export to the US market.

But Indian shrimp exports to the US have shrunk drastically since the anti-dumping imposts.

For September, there had been a 30 per cent reduction in shrimp exports from India to the US, Mr Tharakan said.

Thailand has not been impacted to the same degree because its duty imposts are of a lower magnitude and it exports low-volume value-added shrimp. Reports from Thailand suggest that between January and August, Thai shrimp exports to the US jumped more than 29 per cent to 97,563 tonnes.

The decision was a cumulative one, not taking into consideration the individual merits and demerits of each country's claims. If decisions were made individually for each country, India would have stood a far better chance, SEAI sources said

Indian exporters today confront the onerous task of not only remitting the anti-dumping duty upfront but also undertaking bond obligations, which can be liquidated only after a couple of years. As a result, the number of Indian shrimp exporters to the US has already fallen from around 30-35 to around 15-20 today. With the current anti-dumping duty expected to remain in force for five years, the US can no longer be a primary focus for Indian exporters.

The views of the Commission will be published in a public report `Certain Frozen Warm-water Shrimp and Prawns from India and Thailand' along with the information collected and will be available from December 1 onwards.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Northeast monsoon active again

US dumping duty on Indian shrimps to stay

Inflation slows on cheaper food, energy

Norms for MF investments abroad may be relaxed — `UTI MF may scout for takeovers'

ONGC decides against special dividend — May consider interim dividend later

Cabinet okays setting up of National Investment Fund — UTI MF keen on managing it

SPV for infrastructure funding approved — Govt to guarantee borrowing up to Rs 10,000 cr

CCEA clears national steel policy — 100-mt production by 2019-20 targeted

ATI Tech develops faster graphics processors

IBM chief meets PM