Vietnam condemns US ruling in shrimp dumping case<\/p>\n
Ben Rowse
\nAgence France-Presse
\nHanoi<\/p>\n
Vietnam's seafood industry condemned Wednesday a ruling by a
\nU.S. trade panel that Vietnamese shrimp exports are threatening
\nthe American shrimp industry, calling the anti-dumping
\ninvestigation \"absurd\".<\/p>\n
The Vietnam Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said it
\nwas \"very disappointed\" that the International Trade Commission
\n(ITC) did not terminate the legal action against Vietnam and five
\nother countries.<\/p>\n
\"VASEP affirms that Vietnamese shrimp producers and processors
\nhave not dumped shrimp on the U.S. market and have not caused
\ndamage or threatened to cause material losses to the U.S. shrimp
\nindustry,\" it said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The six-member quasi-judicial ITC voted unanimously on Tuesday
\nthat shrimp and prawns from Brazil, China, Ecuador, India,
\nThailand and Vietnam were being dumped in the United States.<\/p>\n
The ruling has given the green light to the Department of
\nCommerce to press ahead with anti-dumping investigations and make
\na preliminary finding -- which could mean import tariffs or
\nquotas -- by about June 8, the ITC said.<\/p>\n
U.S. shrimp farmers, pooled together in the Ad Hoc Shrimp
\nTrade Action Committee, had asked for the investigation in
\nDecember, calling for anti.dumping tariffs of up to 349 percent.<\/p>\n
They claim that foreign competitors have dumped shrimp on the
\nAmerican market, triggering a plunge in the value of US-harvested
\nshrimp from US$1.25 billion in 2000 to $559 million in 2002.<\/p>\n
VASEP, however, said the price competitiveness of Vietnamese
\nshrimp exports was a result of its members' \"natural and
\ntechnical advantages together with the efforts and hardwork of
\nVietnamese farmers\".<\/p>\n
It called on the U.S. government to base future rulings \"on
\nthe reality of the situation and avoid imposing absurd
\nconclusions on shrimp farmers, processors and exporters in
\nVietnam and other defendant countries.\"<\/p>\n
Legal action against Vietnam's seafood industry comes in the
\nwake of an acrimonious trade spat between Hanoi and Washington
\nover catfish.<\/p>\n
After a year-long tussle, the ITC issued a final ruling in
\nJuly last year that imports of Vietnamese frozen catfish fillets
\nwere hurting the U.S. catfish industry, triggering the imposition
\nof anti-dumping tariffs.<\/p>\n
The dispute was the first major test of the U.S.-Vietnam
\nbilateral trade agreement, which came into force in December
\n2001, praising open the communist country's markets to U.S.
\ninvestors and slashing tariffs on its U.S.-bound exports.<\/p>\n
Abruptly awakened to the international trade game by the
\ncatfish saga, Hanoi was swift to retaliate, accusing Washington
\nof protectionism.<\/p>\n
\"Ironically, while preaching trade liberalization, U.S.
\nauthorities often adopt protectionist measures, including quota
\nand high tax impositions, rather than encourage competition,\" the
\nstate-run Vietnam News Agency said last month.<\/p>\n
Aquiculture is a major source of foreign earnings for Vietnam,
\nsecond after crude oil, and any imposition of tariffs is likely
\nto hurt.<\/p>\n
Shrimp accounts for Vietnam's largest seafood exports and the
\nUnited States was its largest shrimp export market in 2002,
\ntaking $467 million worth or 48 percent of its total shrimp
\nexports.<\/p>\n
In contrast, catfish exports from the Southeast Asian nation
\nto its former military foe only reached $55 million in 2002,
\naccording to Vietnamese trade figures.<\/p>",
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