Tarpon Springs, FL– The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) recently withdrew its requests for investigations of 410 different shrimp exporters in the second administrative review of the antidumping orders on frozen warmwater shrimp from Brazil, China, Ecuador, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. The action was in response to the favorable preliminary results for the first administrative review published March 9, 2007 by the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”). The preliminary results confirmed that shrimp exporters in each of the six countries continued to dump shrimp at unfair prices into the United States after the imposition of the antidumping orders in February 2005.
The SSA withdrew second administrative review requests on companies that did not also request an administrative review before the February 28, 2007 deadline. Without the ability to participate in an administrative review, the shrimp from these 410 companies will be subject to significant duties: in Brazil, 349%; in China, 112.81%; in Ecuador, 48.61%; in India, 82.30%; and in Thailand, 57.64%.
The preliminary results of the first administrative review indicated that imports from a substantial majority of the companies subject to the first administrative review will be assessed antidumping duties equal to or greater than the antidumping duty deposits made by importers. In total, 147 foreign exporters were subject to the first antidumping administrative review. Of these 147 companies, 104 received preliminary rates that were equal to or higher than the antidumping deposit rate paid by importers for shrimp imports from these companies. The preliminary results indicate that importers of shrimp from several major shrimp exporters will owe additional money to the U.S. government, including China’s Red Garden (which had a deposit rate of 27.89%, but has a preliminary assessment rate of 112.81%) and India’s Hindustan Lever Ltd. (deposit rate of 15.36%, but preliminary assessment rate of 24.52%).
“Although we are disappointed by certain decisions made in the preliminary results which resulted in the understatement of the dumping occurring in this market, particularly with respect to Vietnamese and Chinese exporters, the SSA welcomes Commerce’s findings as a whole,” stated John Williams, the executive director of the SSA. “At the same time, we intend to vigorously argue for Commerce to fully account for the amount of unfair pricing occurring in this market and hope that the agency will make appropriate corrections in its final results.”
The preliminary results of the first administrative review, however, did not affect the antidumping duties paid on the vast majority of shrimp imports entering the United States during the review period. Agreements reached by the Southern Shrimp Alliance and 104 different foreign exporters resulted in most shrimp imports having antidumping duties assessed at the same level as deposits were made. The quick resolution of these import entries resulted in over $102 million distributed to the domestic shrimp industry under the Byrd Amendment in fiscal year 2006.