MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US imposes anti-subsidy duties on shrimp from Malaysia, China, Ecuador, India and Vietnam

Imports of frozen “warm-water shrimp” accounted for 3.5 billion dollars last year

Imports of shrimp from Malaysia will be subject to anti-subsidy duties as high as 54.5%, the U.S. Commerce Department said, while lower penalties were set for similar goods from China, Ecuador, India and Vietnam.

The agency announced final duties in a statement. It determined that shrimp imports from Indonesia and Thailand didn’t receive government support that warranted a tariff to offset the benefit.

A group of U.S. domestic producers, known as the Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries, in December asked the agency to investigate whether the imports from the seven nations received unfair support.

“We appreciate these robust numbers from the Commerce Department,” David Veal, executive director of the Coalition of Shrimp Industries which filed the petition, said in a statement.

The Commerce Department’s decision deals with imports of “certain frozen warm-water shrimp” from those countries, which were valued at about 3.5 billion dollars last year, according to the agency. It doesn’t include breaded, fresh or canned shrimp.

The department set anti-subsidy tariffs on imports of Chinese shrimp at 18.16%. The rates on the goods from Ecuador are as high as 13.51%, 11.14% for those from India and 7.88% for the shellfish from Vietnam.

While the Commerce Department sets duty rates, the U.S. International Trade Commission determines whether the imports have harmed domestic producers. The commission is scheduled to issue its findings on that issue Sept. 19.