Shrimp processing. (Photo Credit: VASEP)

Anti-dumping tariffs on shrimp are 'unfair,' states minister

VIET NAM
Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 03:50 (GMT + 9)

American anti-dumping taxes on Vietnamese shrimp have been deemed as unfair and unreasonable by Vietnamese government.

The country’s foreign ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh has stated that the tariffs violate free market principals, growing trade relationship between the two countries and a comprehensive bilateral partnership, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

“We affirm that Vietnamese companies are not dumping shrimp on the US market, not injuring or threatening or damaging to the American shrimp industry,” Binh pointed out referring to the anti-dumping taxes imposed on 27 September.

In March, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) ruled that Minh Phu Seafood Corporation and Soc Trang Seafood JSC in the Mekong Delta had dumped shrimp on the US market between February 2012 and January 2013, Thanh Nien News reported.

Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) Tran Thien Hai stressed the decision was rather surprising, compared to the March 2013 decision which found no evidence of dumping related to Vietnamese shrimp imports.

Binh also suggested that any trade activities between Vietnam and the US should be assessed fairly and objectively to protect the interests of Vietnamese farmers and exporters as well as US consumers and importers.

According to VASEP, in the first eight months of 2014, the country's shrimp export revenue reached USD 2.56 billion, representing an increase of 48.3 per cent year-on-year.

As of mid-August, the US remained the largest market for Vietnamese shrimp with some USD 694.5 million worth of shrimp products imported from Vietnam, that is to say 80.3 per cent higher year-on- year.
 

Related articles:

- US adjusts anti-dumping rates on Vietnamese pangasius
- Commercial hurdles affect pangasius exports

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