Delay in anti-dumping case haunts shrimp exporters

The anti-dumping duty case took a new twist, creating panic among shrimp exporters, with Louisiana Shrimp Association (LSA), another US shrimp producers' body, filing a petition with the US Department of Commerce (DoC) against the Indian exporters.

The abrupt entry of the new organisation would bring the curtains down on chances of an out-of-court settlement. It would also create procedural delays in the ongoing second administrative review, hitting shrimp exports to the US badly, said sources at the Seafood Exporters' Association of India (SEAI).

The DoC is currently conducting the second administrative review in the anti-dumping duty case and the final verdict will be out only after three more such reviews.

The LSA has submitted a list of 337 Indian exporters to be included in the second administrative review for the period between February 2006 and January 2007. The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), the original petitioner in the anti-dumping case, had earlier submitted a list of 231 exporters for the review.

This is for the first time that a second organisation is joining the anti-dumping case since its imposition in February 2004.

Surprisingly, the list submitted by the LSA is more or less the same as the one that the SSA had submitted for the first administrative review, which concluded recently.

The SEAI has decided to file objections against the LSA's list, arguing that only 74 companies are exporting shrimp to US market, of which 44 are actively involved with a market share of almost 80 per cent of the total annual exports to US.

The 77 companies had voluntarily sought the review. But both the US bodies had filed lists of a large number exporters, who were not in the business for the last 2 to 3 years, said the sources.

The SEAI would raise these objections within the next 60 days, as the due diligence of exporters would commence after a few months, they said.

It is learnt that the LSA had come out with a new list because of its differences with the SSA. There was a split between the two US bodies over the issue of dividing the funds raised from various exporters of India, China, Vietnam, Brazil, Thailand and Ecuador to drop them from the cumbersome procedure of administrative reviews.

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LONG WAIT

The DoC is currently conducting the second administrative review in the anti-dumping duty case and the final verdict will be out only after three more such reviews

The Louisiana Shrimp Association has submitted a list of 337 Indian exporters to be included in the second administrative review for the period between February 2006 and January 2007

The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), the original petitioner in the anti-dumping case, had earlier submitted a list of 231 exporters for the review