Vietnam’s largest shrimp exporter, Minh Phu, said it has to pay about 10 percent of a temporary antidumping duty for its shrimp products exported to the United States following the announcement of a formal investigation being carried out by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate (TRLED) under CBP’s Office of Trade on 9 October, 2019, commenced an investigation under the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA), following an allegation submitted by the Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Enforcement Committee (AHSTEC). AHSTEC argued that Minh Phu, along with its affiliates, Minh Qui Seafood, Minh Phat Seafood, and Minh Phu Hau Giang, were importing frozen shrimp from India into Vietnam for the purposes of transshipping it to the U.S.
Based on the allegations and evidence, CBP is imposing interim measures through which unliquidated import entries of frozen shrimp made by MSeafood after 18 September, 2018, “will be rate-adjusted to reflect that they are subject to the anti-dumping order on frozen shrimp from India and cash deposits will be owed.”
“We confirm we never import frozen shrimp from India for shipping to the U.S. as indicated in the charges,” Minh Phu Chairman and CEO Le Van Quang told SeafoodSource. He said Minh Phu’s exports to the U.S. and other markets are continuing as planned and are not affected by the investigation and interim measures.
In a statement released Monday, 20 January, Minh Phu said it has not formally received any written notification from CBP regarding the investigation. It said the investigation and interim measures are based on “one-way, non-transparent, and distorted” information gathered by AHSTEC, which has been a plaintiff in several antidumping lawsuits against seafood imports from Vietnam.
Some of the data provided by AHSTEC in its allegations are not correct, Minh Phu said. AHSTEC alleges a discrepancy between the company’s production and export data, saying a statement from Minh Phu in June 2019 showed the company produced 12,000 metric tons (MT) of frozen shrimp in 2018, but exported a total of 67,000 MT of shrimp globally that year. But Minh Phu said the 12,000 MT was solely an estimate of material output from its own farms in 2018, not its total production, which would also include independent farms from which it buys product.
Minh Phu said it will fully cooperate with CBP in the investigation, despite its disagreement with the allegations. Lawyers representing the company in the U.S. have registered with CBP to be permitted to participate in the investigation and will provide evidence for CBP to consider before the U.S. agency makes its final decision, Minh Phu said, adding that it has previous experience dealing with this type of legal issue in the U.S.
Despite a 19.6 percent drop in the volume of shrimp it shipped to the U.S. in 2019 over a year prior, the United States remained Minh Phu’s single biggest market. The company exported shrimp worth USD 245.9 million (EUR 220.7 million) to the U.S. in 2019.
