The U.S. International Trade Commission Commission has issued a ruling that may help Louisiana shrimpers compete on a more even playing field.
The agency has determined that U.S. shrimpers are “materially injured” by imports of frozen warmwater shrimp from Indonesia, which the U.S. Department of Commerce has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value.
It also ruled that frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador, India and Vietnam are subsidized by those governments.
As a result, import duties will be imposed on shrimp from those countires. Import duties are taxes levied by governments on goods brought into a country to protect local industries, raise revenue and control trade.
U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) applauded the U.S. International Trade Commission’s decision.
“Countries selling shrimp below their cost to the U.S. undermine Louisiana producers and Louisiana jobs,” Cassidy said in a news release. “We should use every tool we have to ensure fairness in dealing with American businesses.”
In July, Cassidy led a group of Senate colleagues in urging U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo not to grant market economy status to Vietnam and safeguard American industries, such as Louisiana shrimpers.
Last spring, Vietnam formally asked the Department of Commerce to remove it from the list of nonmarket economies on the grounds that it had made economic reforms in recent years.
Other countries that have market economy status include China, Russia and North Korea.
Citing Vietnam’s controlled currency, lack of labor rights and extensive state intervention, Cassidy said granting Vietnam market economy status would devastate U.S. industries already damaged by Vietnam’s unfair trade practices.
U.S. International Trade Commission is an independent, nonpartisan, quasi-judicial federal agency that provides analysis of international trade issues to the President and the Congress.
