U.S. wields tariffs at Indian, RI mushrooms

U.S. wields tariffs at Indian, RI mushrooms

WASHINGTON (AFP): The U.S. government is about to impose
punitive duties on imports of preserved mushrooms from India,
Indonesia and China, according to Commerce Department documents
released here.

The department says mushrooms from those countries are being
sold in the United States at unfairly low prices.

The duties will range from six percent to 244 percent and are
designed to offset the advantage allegedly gained by the Asian
exporters from having "dumped" their mushrooms on the market at
prices below what the department considers fair.

Action by the department could come later this week.

The decision comes after a key finding announced on Wednesday
of last week by another US trade body, the International Trade
Commission (ITC), that the US preserved mushroom industry had
indeed been harmed or threatened by the dumping practices.

The Commerce Department said it would order the punitive
tariffs to take effect seven days after the ITC finding, which
would be Wednesday.

The planned imposition of duties caps a campaign launched in
January 1998 by an alliance of seven US preserved mushroom
producers known as the Coalition for Fair Preserved Mushroom
Trade.

They had charged that their businesses had been jeopardized by
cheap imports from India, Indonesia, China and Chile.

Final anti-dumping duties of more than 140 percent were
ordered against Chilean imports last November.

Lawyers representing all four countries had argued that if the
US preserved mushroom industry is suffering it is because of
competition from the fresh product, now increasingly preferred by
consumers.

Preserved mushroom imports from India, Indonesia and China
were valued at US$82 million in 1997, according to the Commerce
Department, with China accounting for $43.8 million.

The ITC said imports from the three countries in 1997 amounted
to 55.2 percent of US consumption.

Hardest hit by the anti-dumping orders are two Indian
companies, Alpine Biotech and Mandeep Mushrooms, each of which
has been assigned punitive tariffs of 243.87 percent.

The orders cover preserved mushrooms packed in cans or glass
jars in water, brine or butter. They may be imported whole,
sliced, diced or as stems and pieces.