U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has concluded that MSeafood Corporation, the U.S. importer affiliate of Vietnam’s Minh Phu Seafood, illegally evaded the country’s antidumping duty order on certain frozen warmwater shrimp from India.
CBP’s Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate (TRLED) under its Office of Trade on 9 October, 2019, initiated the investigation under the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA), following an allegation submitted by the Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Enforcement Committee (AHSTEC), a coalition of U.S. shrimp industry members and commercial fishing industry organizations.
In its affirmative determination released on 13 October, CBP said there is “substantial evidence” that Minh Phu Seafood had imported shrimp from India, processed at its production facilities in Vietnam and exported to the U.S, according to a CBP notice.
Based on its own analysis, “CBP determines that substantial evidence exists demonstrating that the shrimp entered by MSeafood during the POI [period of investigation] was co-mingled Indian origin shrimp with Vietnamese-origin shrimp, and is subject to the all-others rate for the India order,” it said.
Minh Phu’s shrimp originating in Vietnam is not taxed by the U.S., while shrimp from India is imposed an antidumping duty of 10.17 percent.
Minh Phu had said in January it has to pay a cash deposit rate of 10.17 percent for its shrimp products exported to the U.S. following the announcement of the formal investigation being carried out by the CBP.
CBP said it made the conclusion after Minh Phu failed to provide information it requested, including “tracing imported shrimp’s bill of ladings to specific exported shrimp, which would allow CBP to trace its imports of Indian-origin shrimp through its production processes to its sales.” The U.S. agency also noted that Minh Phu has a history of co-mingling Indian-origin shrimp with Vietnamese-origin shrimp.
Shrimp import entries into the U.S. by MSeafood will continue to be treated as subject to the antidumping duty order on shrimp from India. CBP said it will assess the duties in case it is instructed by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Under EAPA, the importer can request an administrative review of CBP’s determination if it disagrees with the conclusion.
“The U.S. shrimp industry continues to be grateful to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for its robust enforcement of the shrimp antidumping duty orders,” Southern Shrimp Alliance Executive Director John Williams said in a statement. “For the last several years, CBP has quickly cracked down on efforts by U.S. shrimp importers to skirt the law. CBP’s announcement, once again, demonstrates this Administration’s commitment to the enforcement of our trade laws.”
Minh Phu CEO Le Van Quang told SeafoodSource on 15 October that Minh Phu has fully cooperated with CBP during the investigation to prove that it did not import shrimp from India for sales to the U.S. to evade antidumping duty on Indian shrimp. CBP’s conclusion is “not fair” to the Vietnamese company, as it based on outdated data, he said.
Photo courtesy of Minh Phu
