U.S. starts collecting anti-dumping shrimp taxes

The U.S. Government has ordered its customs office to start collecting anti-dumping tariffs on shrimp imports from Vietnam and five other countries, said the Vietnamese seafood business association on Tuesday.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection have been told to begin collecting a US$2.3 billion deposit from American seafood importers buying frozen shrimps from Vietnam and five other countries, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers ( Vasep ).

Vietnam, Brazil, China, Ecuador, India and Thailand were charged with anti-dumping tariffs late last year for selling shrimp to the U.S. at below-market prices.

The duties will be applicable for two years, the Vasep said. After that, the U.S. Government will reconsider shrimp sales and make changes accordingly on the tax rates, said the association added.

Earlier on Jan. 26, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) decided to raise tariffs on Vietnam's frozen shrimps by 0.17 to 0.25% from its December rulings.

In December, the DoC upheld the imposition of penalty taxes on shrimp imports from Vietnam and slapped anti-dumping tariffs ranging from 4.13 to 25.76%.

On Jan. 7, the quasi-judicial U.S. International Trade Commission issued a ruling that support the DoC's decision, paving the way for the taxes to take effect.

The Vasep has repeatedly said that Vietnamese producers did not dump shrimp in the American market and that any tariff rates were unfair and unreasonable.

Vietnam Style