The U.S. Court of International Trade has upheld antidumping duties placed on Indian shrimp exported by Megaa Moda.
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) first posted its intention to increase antidumping duties on 185 frozen warmwater shrimp exporters in India in 2023, as part of its 17th administrative review. At the time, it planned to impose a 3.76 percent tariff on the exporters, based on imports that entered the U.S. between 1 February 2021 and 31 January 2022.
The two mandatory respondents, Megaa Moda Pvt. Ltd. (Megaa Moda) and NK Marine Exports LLP (NK Marine), were preliminarily levied 7.92 percent and 1.43 percent duties, respectively. Megaa Moda disagreed with the decision and appealed the calculation of the dumping margin to the Court of International Trade. At the same time, the Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee (AHSTAC), representing domestic shrimp interests in the U.S., also initiated an appeal – which the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) joined as an intervenor – and the court eventually consolidated both appeals into a single case.
In August 2024, the court remanded the final results of the 17th review back to the DOC for additional review.
Throughout the process, both the AHSTAC and the ASPA challenged the DOC's decision-making, claiming that the department had fallen short of its legal obligations.
Now, U.S. Senior Judge Thomas Aquilino has determined that the DOC's decision-making process was adequate in calculating Megaa Moda’s antidumping margin. According to the case, the department’s decisions based on what it said were a lack of evidence of dumping in certain instances were reasonable.
Both parties have the option to appeal the decision. As it stands, Megaa Moda will be assessed a 7.92 percent antidumping duty in the U.S.
