US mulls 25% antidumping tax on Vietnamese shrimp

The most recent period of review, its eighth edition (POR8), is the administrative review conducted against Vietnamese shrimp shipments that entered the U.S. between February 1, 2012 and January 31, 2013, according to a notice by the U.S. International Trade Administration obtained by Tuoitrenews.

The DOC preliminarily determines that sales by the Minh Phu Seafood Corporation and Soc Trang Seafood JSC were made below normal value.

These businesses, which are the two mandatory respondents of the review, are thus subject to temporary antidumping tariffs of 4.98 percent and 9.75 percent, respectively.

Mandatory respondents are the top exporters of the subject merchandise selected by the DOC to have their exports examined during the administrative reviews.

The rates for voluntary respondents are 6.37 percent while the remaining Vietnam-wide respondents who were not included in the POR8 will likely have to pay 25.76 percent in anti-dumping taxes.

The tariffs determined in the POR8 are much higher than those in the previous periods of review, which were below 4.57 percent for both mandatory and voluntary respondents.

The final decision ruled upon the POR7 one year ago even zeroed all tariffs for the Vietnamese shrimp exporters to the U.S.

The DOC said it will disclose the calculations used in the analysis to parties in the POR8 within five days of the date of publication (March 24).

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments within 30 days of publication of the preliminary results, according to the DOC.

The department intends to issue the final results of this administrative review, including the results of their analysis of issues raised in the written comments, within 120 days of publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register.

Upon issuance of the final results, the department will determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review.

In related news, Brazil will impose antidumping taxes of US$0.59 to $2.8 per kg on Vietnamese bicycle tires in the next five years, the Vietnam Competition Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced on Wednesday.

The tariffs were issued after a review the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade conducted of Vietnam’s shipments to the South American country between April 2011 and March 2012.

Brazil initiated its first administrative review of Vietnamese tires in September 2012.