The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determined that revoking the existing antidumping duty orders on certain frozen warmwater shrimp and prawns from India and Thailand would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.
As a result of the Commission's determinations, the existing orders on imports of these products from India and Thailand will remain in place.
All six Commissioners found that revoking the existing orders would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.
On January 6, 2005, the Commission determined that an industry in the United States was materially injured by imports of certain non-canned warmwater shrimp and prawns from Brazil, China, Ecuador, India, Thailand, and Vietnam that the U.S. Department of Commerce had determined were being sold in the United States at less than fair value.
At that time, the Commission cited concerns about the possible impact of the December 2004 tsunami on the shrimping industries of Thailand and India and announced that it would collect information and accept submissions on whether the tsunami's impact on those industries warranted the Commission self-instituting changed circumstances reviews.
On April 25, 2005, the Commission announced it would conduct changed circumstances reviews to determine whether revoking the antidumping duty orders on imports of certain frozen warmwater shrimp from India and Thailand would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of injury to the U.S. industry.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), an alliance of the U.S. warmwater wild shrimp fishery from eight states (North Carolina, South Carolina,Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas), welcomed the ITC determination. “The ITC properly concluded that the tsunami did not significantly impact the ability of the shrimp industries in India or Thailand to produce and export to this market,” stated Joey Rodriguez, President of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “While the Southern Shrimp Alliance sympathizes with the tsunami survivors, U.S. trade laws must be enforced until violators play by the rules of free trade.”
SSA says that between 2000 and 2003, the Gulf and South Atlantic shrimp industry and related businesses lost $4.4 billion as the wholesale price of dumped shrimp imports dropped 31 percent.
"The U.S. shrimp industry lost thousands of jobs and hundreds of business as it was forced to compete against the unfair pricing of six countries", the group says.
“The shrimp industry is currently recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and facing the same high fuel prices as the rest of America. We could not survive these short-term problems if dumped shrimp was allowed to flood our markets again.”
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita affected the majority of U.S. shrimp industry, costing billions of dollars in lost inventory, damaged equipment, and downtime. Yet, after weeks of rebuilding, the vast majority of shrimp processing facilities in the affected states have reopened their doors for business to varying degrees. Shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico are reporting plentiful catches of high quality shrimp after the storms.
The Commission's public report Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp and Prawns from India and Thailand (Inv. Nos. 751-TA-28-29, USITC Publication 3813, November 2005) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the reviews.
Copies may be requested after December 12, 2005, by calling 202-205-1809 or by contacting the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Requests may be made by fax at 202-205-2104.
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