On June 1, 2017, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) published a notice to lift the antidumping duties imposed on Brazilian frozen warm water shrimp, while extending the antidumping duties currently imposed on shrimp from four Asian countries (China, Vietnam, Thailand, and India) for an additional five years. In the notice, DOC stated that the validation date for the revocation of the antidumping duties imposed on Brazilian shrimp was April 29, 2016. On the same day, Customs was notified to liquidate Brazilian shrimp entries made on or after April 29, 2016 without antidumping duties, i.e. release all bonds and refund the deposits with interest.
This determination was a result from DOC and International Trade Commission’s sunset review of these antidumping duty orders. The U.S. conducts sunset reviews of antidumping duty orders every five years. The purpose of these reviews is to ensure that antidumping duties remain in place only as long as needed to protect domestic industry. On May 2, International Trade Commission decided that terminating the antidumping duties on shrimp from China, Vietnam, Thailand, and India would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to the domestic industry, while terminating the antidumping duty on Brazilian products would not; therefore, the antidumping duties were lifted on Brazilian shrimp, but left in place on shrimp from the other countries. The Commission published the report for this decision on June 15.
Shrimps Exporters in China, Vietnam, Thailand, and India
While the antidumping duties on shrimp from China, Vietnam, Thailand, and India will remain in place until the next sunset review five years from now, there is an opportunity for foreign exporters to seek a decreased rate before that. The current country-wide antidumping duty rate is 10.17% for India, 5.34% for Thailand, 25.76% for Vietnam, and 112.80% for China. Every year during the antidumping duty orders’ anniversary months, exporters and/or producers in China, Vietnam, Thailand, and India can request that the DOC conduct an administrative review of the antidumping duty rates imposed under these orders for the previous year. We have seen individual foreign exporters successfully obtain a rate lower than the country-wide rate by participating in these reviews.
U.S. Shrimp Importers
U.S. shrimp importers should carefully examine their supply chains to verify the country of origin of their imported shrimp and verify whether antidumping duties are due. In today’s supply chain, shrimp may be farmed in one country and then processed and packed in one or more countries. The fact that shrimp may be processed in more than one country can give rise to misunderstanding as to its country of origin. Apart from the tiered supply chain, importers may also have motivation to mistakenly declare country of origin to circumvent the antidumping duty. Because importers are liable for any antidumping duties due, it may be wise to conduct due diligence to verify the origin of their imported shrimp.
The team at FDAImports.com reviews compliance procedures, conducts supply chain investigations, and represents businesses before governmental agencies. Contact us today for more information.
