US suspicions worry Indian seafood exporters

The US trade deficit in shrimp was nearly $4.5 bn in 2016

New trouble is brewing for Indian seafood export, valued at $4.7 billion annually, with the United States taking 30 per cent of this.

American Shrimp Processors Association (Aspa) has named India, along with Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, China, and Malaysia, as seven of the 13 countries with which the US ran a significant overall shrimp trade deficit in 2016. The US trade deficit in shrimp was nearly $4.5 billion in 2016.

An ‘Omnibus Report’ has been called for by the US administration. It is to analyse the effects of the trade relationship on US employment and wage growth, and identification of import and trade practices that might be impairing the country's security.

“For decades, our shrimp industry has faced surging import of farm-raised shrimp produced overseas. As a result, the US trade deficit in shrimp is substantial and growing,” says David Veal, executive director of Aspa. He has testified at public hearings there to address this situation. Aspa says the deficit of $3.4 bn with these nations is 77 per cent of the total shrimp trade deficit and has increased 44 per cent since 2012.

Alleging this is the result of unfair and illegal trade practices, including persistent dumping in the US market and subsidisation by foreign governments, Veal contends the US trade deficit in all seafood was as much as $10.5 bn in 2016, greater than that in raw iron, steel or aluminium.

Recently, the International Trade Commission of the United States had unanimously voted to extend the current anti-dumping orders on shrimp from China, India, Thailand and Vietnam for an additional five years.

Unfairly traded imports have distorted trade patterns and hindered the growth and future stability of the domestic industry, Veal says.

All this has India’s seafood exporters worried. “USA local shrimp production cannot possibly meet the demand for local consumption. It is also a testimony to the acceptability of India shrimps. The results of the last two reviews by the US Department of Commerce shows India is not dumping shrimp in the US.

Trade barriers are a significant feature of world trade, under the pretext of protecting the local industry,” says Rajen Padhy, director general of the Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a seafood trade consultant.

The challenge for Indian packers is to meet stringent quality guidelines and increased inspections by US regulators. India would continue to be a leading nation in export of shrimp to the US, he added, noting our volumes to the US had surged over the past two-odd years, despite an anti-dumping duty review and two other reviews by the department of commerce.