DOC Announces Final Antidumping Determinations on Shrimp From China and Vietnam
Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced the final determinations in the antidumping duty investigations on imports of certain frozen and canned warmwater shrimp from the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam). With the exception of one Chinese producer, DOC found that Chinese and Vietnamese producers/exporters have sold frozen and canned warmwater shrimp in the U.S. market at less than fair value, with margins ranging from 27.89% to 112.81% for imports from the PRC and 4.13% to 25.76% for imports from Vietnam. While the final antidumping margins for Chinese companies were similar to those in the amended preliminary determination announced on August 24, 2004, the final margins applicable to Vietnamese exporters were significantly less than those in the amended preliminary determination.
DOC found that certain Chinese and Vietnamese companies that voluntarily responded to the Department's Section A questionnaire have demonstrated an absence of government control from their export activities and are eligible to receive "separate-rate" status. DOC will apply the weighted-average dumping margin of the mandatory respondents in each of the investigations to these companies for the purpose of the final determinations which, in this case, is 55.23% for China and 4.38% for Vietnam.
DOC is scheduled to make a final decision on shrimp imports from Brazil, Ecuador, India and Thailand in late December. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is scheduled to make its final injury determinations on or about January 12, 2005. If the ITC makes a final affirmative determination that imports are materially injuring, or threatening to materially injure, the domestic industry, DOC will issue an antidumping duty order and will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Customs) to collect cash deposits on imports of subject merchandise.
The products covered by these investigations include certain warmwater shrimp and prawns, whether frozen or canned, wild-caught (ocean harvested) or farm-raised (produced by aquaculture), head-on or head-off, shell-on or peeled, tail-on or tail-off, deveined or not deveined, cooked or raw, or otherwise processed in frozen or canned form.
The petitions requesting the initiation of these investigations were filed on December 31, 2003, by The Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee, whose members are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
|posted by Douglas N. Jacobson| Permalink 
