The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) in New York last week blocked the refund of billions of dollars to Indian shrimp exporters despite a recent reduction in average antidumping duties to 1.69 percent.
The ruling followed an appeal by the Southern Shrimp Alliance, which represents domestic shrimp fishermen and processors in eight Southern states. SSA initiated the original antidumping proceedings back in 2003, and duties were placed on six major exporting countries, including India.
The U.S. Department of Commerce's tariff reduction ruling is suspended. If the court finds merit in SSA's appeal, the DOC will re-examine the reduced rates that resulted from the second annual review, a process that could take more than two years.
Duties on Indian shrimp have already been reduced since first imposed in 2004, when the average rate was set at 10.17 percent. The rate was cut to 7.22 percent in early 2007.
Devi Sea Foods, a leading Indian shrimp exporter to the United States, recently had its duty cut to less than 1 percent from 4.93 percent and stood to receive a large refund on duties it already paid. The company will reportedly challenge the CIT's ruling.
