U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has concluded that Vietnam’s Minh Phu Seafood has not illegally evaded the country’s antidumping duty order on certain frozen warmwater shrimp from India.
“It is our good news in the first days of our Lunar New year,” Minh Phu CEO Le Van Quang told SeafoodSource. “The CBP has reversed the previous determination, which means we will not be imposed their antidumping duty and will have our paid cash deposits refunded.”
CBP’s Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate (TRLED) initiated the investigation on 9 October, 2019, 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 last year, TRLED said it found “substantial evidence” Minh Phu Seafood had imported shrimp from India, processed at its production facilities in Vietnam, and exported it to the U.S.
But on 11 February, CBP informed a law firm representing Minh Phu in the U.S. that the agency decided to reverse the 13 October decision, as it found no substantial evidence that the Vietnamese exporter had evaded the U.S. antidumping duty order on Indian warmwater shrimp, Quang said.
CBP conducted the review after receiving a request from Minh Phu in November 2020. During the review, the U.S. agency analyzed the previous findings of TRLED, and considered arguments and requests from Minh Phu as well as counterargument responses from AHSTEC.
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 has had 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, according to the company.
Following the latest decision from CBP, TRLED is expected to review the interim measures applied on Minh Phu’s shipments into the U.S., Quang said.
Photo courtesy of Minh Phu
