DOC Imposes Low Tax Levels on Shrimp from Vietnam

DOC Imposes Low Tax Levels on Shrimp from Vietnam

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) on November 30 made its final decisions regarding anti-dumping tariffs on Vietnam’s shrimp exports, ranging between 4.13-25.76 per cent, which were considerably lower than those in the DOC's preliminary decision on July 6 this year at between 12.11 to 93.13 per cent.

Under the final decision, four mandatory defendants of Vietnam will be imposed with the following tax rates of 4.21 per cent for the Minh Phu Seafood Import-Export Company, 25.76 per cent for Kim Anh, 4.13 per cent for the Minh Hai Seafood Company and 4.99 per cent for the Ca Mau Seafood Processing and Import-Export Company (Camimex).

Meanwhile, Chinese shrimp processing companies are levied tax rates of between 27.89 to 112.81 per cent.

The US International Trade Committee (ITC) will then rule whether Vietnam and China dumped their shrimp into the US market or not by January 12, 2005. If ITC decides that the shrimp imported from defendant countries was done to cause material losses, DOC will officially decide to apply anti-dumping tax rates on shrimp imported from China and Vietnam on January 19, 2005.

DOC confirmed that most of the Vietnamese and Chinese firms that have voluntarily answered DOC’s Section A question list, didn't show signals of the Government’s subsidy in their exports and they are enjoyed separate rate margin of 4.38 per cent. However, Hai Thuan, Ngoc Sinh, Nha Trang Seafood Company, Phuong Nam Co, Ltd. and Truc An Company have to bear a wide rate of 25.76 per cent.

DOC still confirmed (as it did in the preliminary decision) that there are no signals of a state of emergency for the imports of Vietnamese shrimp into the US.

The tax rates for the last four defendants including Thailand, Brazil, India and Ecuador is scheduled to announce on December 17.

• T.V