US may scrap duty on shrimps

Following a request from India, the United States has ordered a suo motu critical review of its anti-dumping duties on Indian shrimp imports to provide relief to the tsunami-hit marine sector.

Outgoing US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick conveyed the move to Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath. Nath had requested Zoellick to relax anti-dumping duties for seafood exports from India because the marine sector had been the worst affected by the tsunami.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has also recommended immediate trade measures by the global community, including suspension of anti-dumping actions against products from the tsunami affected countries.

UNCTAD has suggested temporary provision of duty-free treatment to imports from the tsunami-hit countries, in line with WTO rules and an immediate suspension or termination of all special trade-restraining measures such as anti-dumping on goods like seafood and processed agricultural products, an official release said today.

The US had earlier said it would review anti-dumping duties on shrimp imports from countries like India and Thailand in the wake of the tsunami disaster.

India's marine exports are valued at over $2 billion annually, and the US market accounts for a major share.