The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has released its preliminary findings and decisions on whether to implement antidumping duties on certain Vietnamese shrimp companies, determining duties as high as 57.64 percent on certain firms.
The DOC, in a preliminary decision, determined that sales conducted by Soc Trang Seafood Joint Stock Company (Stapimex) of certain frozen warmwater shrimp in the U.S. were done at below the “normal value” of sales in Vietnam. As a result of the determination, Stapimex will be hit with a 35.29 percent dumping margin, as will 22 other companies.
“For these preliminary results, Stapimex is the only respondent for which Commerce calculated an individual estimated weighted-average dumping margin that is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available,” the DOC’s preliminary decision states.
The DOC added that it also assigned exporters that it did not individually examine, and that are eligible for a separate rate, a dumping margin equal to the margin applying to Stapimex. That means 22 other companies, such as Thong Thuan Company Limited, Cantho Import Export Fishery Limited Company, and more will face the higher rate.
The latest decision on antidumping duties stems from a process started by the DOC on 1 February 2005. Since that time, antidumping duties on Vietnamese shrimp have varied as the department reviews the rates at companies’ requests.
The newest publication by DOC on the matter covers the period from 1 February 2023 through 31 January 2024 and determined Stapimex and 22 other companies sold shrimp in the U.S. for less than the “normal value,” which means they will now be subject to the 35.29 percent antidumping duty margin.
Alongside the new higher rate for Stapimex, a separate investigation by the DOC decided CP Foods is now on the hook for a 57.64 percent antidumping tariff, largely because the company submitted a letter to the DOC that it was suspending its participation in the review.
That same review determined Thai Royal Frozen Foods and 13 companies not individually examined will see a dumping margin of just 0.73 percent.
The DOC said it also reviewed Thai Union and determined it would not receive any antidumping tariffs.
By law, companies subject to an antidumping duty need to start putting aside cash deposits equal to the rates determined by the DOC, which means when the preliminary decision was made, every company impacted had to start setting aside the money.
The latest decision isn’t the first time that individual companies in Vietnam have been hit with much higher rates than others.
A recent countervailing duty investigation by the DOC hit most Vietnamese companies with a 5.77 percent duty, while just one company, Thong Thuan Company Limited, was hit was a 221.82 percent dumping rate, which the DOC said was “based on adverse inferences.” Thong Thuan was also listed as incurring the new higher 35.29 percent antidumping rate, meaning the company faces a 257.11 percent tariff on its shrimp exports to the U.S. from its countervailing and antidumping duties.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance welcomed the news of the new duties. The SSA, along with the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA), have been requesting the DOC look into shrimp industry practices in foreign countries, including from Vietnam, as U.S. shrimp harvesters face low prices the organizations say are due to competition with imported shrimp.
