Asia slams U.S. agency over shrimp

Asia slams U.S. agency over shrimp

Associated Press, Hanoi

Asian shrimp exporters on Thursday said a U.S. antidumping
lawsuit is an example of blatant protectionism - and vowed to
fight to keep overseas shrimp on American dinner plates.

The U.S. Southern Shrimp Alliance filed the suit Wednesday
with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade
Commission against Thailand, China, Vietnam, India, Brazil and
Ecuador.

The alliance, an eight-state group of shrimpers and
processors, claims those countries have dumped shrimp on the U.S.
market at unfairly low prices, crippling their industry in the
United States. They want the government to impose tariffs on
imported shrimp.

But exporters from the targeted Asian countries - representing
three of the biggest exporters of shrimp to the United States -
argue they've done nothing wrong, and say the suit is just an
example of Americans ignoring free trade to protect their own
interests.

A ruling on the suit is expected by mid-February.

"This move goes against the trend of global trade
liberalization to which the United States claims they are the
champion," said Nguyen Van Kich of the Vietnam Association of
Seafood Exporters and Producers, which has retained U.S.
attorneys to fight the suit.

The United States buys the biggest portion of its imported
shrimp from Thailand, shipping in about 176,000 metric tons
(194,000 U.S. tons) worth US$1.1 billion in 2002, according to
Thai figures. Officials there say U.S. sanctions would force them
to seek new markets for 30 percent to 50 percent of their shrimp
exports.

"It won't be easy because there are only three main shrimp
markets in the world - America, Japan, and the E.U.," said Somsak
Paneetathayasai, president of Thailand's Black Tiger Shrimp
Farmers, Producers and Exporters Association.

He said the Commerce Ministry has promised to help the
industry fight the suit.

The Southern Shrimp Alliance claims the value of U.S.-
harvested shrimp was cut in half - from $1.25 billion in 2000 to
$560 million in 2002 - with a 40 percent drop in employment at
Southern shrimp plants. Meanwhile, it says imports from the six
targeted countries increased from 210 million kilograms (466
million pounds) in 2000 to 351 million kilograms (780 million
pounds) in 2003.

The European Union and Japan have recently clamped down on
shrimp imports because of concerns about antibiotics in farm-
raised shrimp, forcing more exporters into the American market at
lower prices. The U.S. shrimpers' group claims American imports
are not held to the same health and safety standards as domestic
shrimp.

But Abraham Tharakan, president of the Seafood Exporters
Association of India, called the suit "unfair and
discriminatory."

"We export quality products," he said.

Seafood exporters in Asia are trying to form an alliance to
fight the suit, and the Indian government will be asked to help,
Tharakan said.

The United States is India's second-largest shrimp buyer after
Japan. Nearly a quarter of India's shrimp exporters' US$1
billion-plus earnings come from American imports, Tharakan said.

China's Commerce Ministry did not answer repeated phone calls
to its offices Thursday. Neither its Web site nor the official
Xinhua News Agency carried any reaction from Beijing.

In Vietnam, officials are especially concerned because the
International Trade Commission ruled in July that the communist
country dumped catfish on the U.S. market. The commission imposed
duties ranging from 36.84 percent to 63.88 percent on Vietnamese
catfish exporters.

But Vietnam's catfish industry is tiny compared to its shrimp
business. In 2002, the country was the United States' second-
largest shrimp supplier with exports worth $467.3 million,
compared to just $55 million for catfish.