The Indian seafood export sector may face a serious setback on the anti-dumping duty on shrimp due to the soft-pedalling of the Union government with the World Trade Organization (WTO). In a recent judgment, WTO ruled that the US was violating global trade rules by using the 'zeroing' method to impose anti-dumping duty on shrimp from Vietnam.
Zeroing is a framework for calculating duties on goods sold at less than their price in the exporter’s home market. Vietnam had got rid off the duty since August 2004. Earlier countries like Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, EU, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Thailand had also won their zeroing cases at the WTO. China launched its case this February. But India has not seriously proceeded with the case till date. Hence the country’s seafood export sector is reeling under pressure in exporting to the US. According to the order of the US Department of Commerce (US DoC) in March, Indian exporters have to pay an average duty of 1.69 per cent.
The Indian export sector finds it very tough as most of its rivals have got rid of the duty. The decision by a three-member panel of WTO, latest in a series of zeroing, has been found illegal under the WTO agreement. The panel said the US “has acted inconsistently with provisions of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and GATT and it should bring its calculation method into line with the two agreements”. The seafood export sector had requested the government several times to pursue WTO proceedings against the US method applied in calculating anti-dumping duty. But the government is not serious in pursuing the proceedings.
