US cuts anti-dumping duty on Indian shrimps

The US, the largest importer of Indian shrimps, has reduced the anti-dumping duty on the perishable item to 0.84 per cent for Indian exporters.

The US commerce department has announced the reviews of the anti-dumping duty for the period February 1, 2015, to January 31, 2016.

While the rate for Falcon Marine, the largest seafood exporter in the country, has been set at zero per cent, for Liberty Group it is 0.84 per cent. Both Falcon Marine and Liberty Group were mandatory respondents to the review.

The duty finalised is lower than the previous review rates. The final duty for 2014-15 was 2.20 per cent. 

“Because the duty has been lowered, a lot of major exporters will get refunds, which will be a big boost for exports,” said Rajen Padhi, director general of the Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a seafood consultant. 

The reduction in the rates has come as a relief when uncertainties in seafood trades were visible. 

This year the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) voted to extend the anti-dumping orders on imports of frozen warm water shrimp for five more years. 

The American Shrimp Processors Association 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 shrimp trade deficit in 2016. 

The US imported 188,617 tonnes of Indian seafood in 2016-17. Export to the US registered growth rates of 22.72 per cent, 33 per cent, and 29.82 per cent in terms of quantity, rupee value, and dollar value, respectively. 

“The duty rate is changing from year to year. The lower rate essentially means there is no dumping in the US and the reduction in the duty helps in boosting trade,” said a trade source.