U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., announced on Wednesday that she directed USD 3 million (EUR 2.2 million) to collect anti-dumping duties from countries that illegally dump shrimp, crawfish and other seafood into the U.S. market.
The funding is part of a bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2015 and also requires Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to work with the Departments of Commerce, Justice and Treasury to increase collection of anti-dumping and countervailing duties for unfairly traded imports, including shrimp and crawfish meat from China.
“Foreign governments continue to unfairly spend hundreds of millions of dollars to dump underpriced shrimp into the United States and put our shrimpers, crawfishermen and seafood producers at an unfair disadvantage. This funding will beef up our efforts to punish those who cheat the market and our seafood producers,” said Sen. Landrieu, chair of the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee. “I will continue to use this committee to protect these jobs, a time-honored way of life, and the thousands of shrimpers who call the Gulf Coast home.”
John Williams, executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, praised Landrieu for maintaining crucial trade remedies. “Unfortunately, many foreign producers and importers continue to cheat the law to bring cheap product into this market and the Senator’s support for greater enforcement and resources, including funding for the federal agencies responsible for policing circumvention, is greatly appreciated,” Williams said. “Further, Sen. Landrieu’s efforts to prevent and deter further import fraud, including making circumvention a point of emphasis in international trade negotiations, is very important to the future of the shrimp industry.”
Louisiana is home to more than 1,800 crawfish farmers and fishermen who harvest more than 110 million pounds of crawfish each year contributing nearly $120 million in economic impact for Louisiana’s economy.
Louisiana’s shrimp industry supports over 14,000 jobs and contributes $1.3 billion to Louisiana’s economy. In 2011, shrimpers landed over 92 million pounds of shrimp, more than any other state in the union.
