Providing a booster dose to India’s struggling seafood export industry, the US Department of Commerce (DoC) has reduced the anti-dumping duty on imports of seafood items.
The US DoC has reduced the country-specific average duty for India to 0.79 per cent from 1.69 per cent after an administrative review.
The fresh rate will be applicable to 170 Indian companies engaged in export business with the US.
“This is the result of a concerted effort put up by the seafood export industry of India,” said Anwar Hashim, president, Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI).
“We had developed a new costing package in order to present our case before the US DoC. They were impressed by the book-keeping of the mandatory respondents. So this is the outcome of a united effort by the export sector of the country,” he said.
The US DoC had initiated anti-dumping duty against countries such as India, China, Ecuador, Thailand and Vietnam in 2004 following a a complaint lodged by the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), an American shrimp producers’ body. SSA argued that its business had been affected badly due to dumping of seafood items, especially shrimps, at very low prices by the foreign countries.
Upholding their arguments, DoC had imposed heavy anti-dumping duty on imports of these countries. The various exporter organisations of the countries, including India, had filed counter petitions following this, arguing that the anti-dumping duty was against the various decisions taken by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), an international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
Based on the complaints from the countries, DoC initiated five rounds of administrative reviews to analyse whether this would confine to the definition of dumping. DoC’s latest move to reduce anti-dumping duty on imports of seafood items came on the third round of administrative reviews. The third administrative review was for a period of February 2007 to January 2008.
DoC has also fixed the rate for two Indian companies, which were the mandatory respondents for the third administrative review. The US body has fixed the rate for Devi Seafoods as 0.39 per cent against 0.35 per cent and for Falcon Marine Products as 0.79 per cent against 1.69 per cent. A total of 334 Indian companies were selected for the review and 166 companies are expected to be liable to pay Actual Facts Available (AFA) duty at the rate of 110 per cent. AFA duty is applicable to those companies which did not respond to the review process.
Hashim of SEAI also expressed hope that the US administration would withdraw the customs bond soon as the WTO verdict is in favour of India. Both these changes will be a booster to the Indian seafood export sector. The Indian companies will get handsome amount through refund of duty paid earlier. But this is expected to be delayed as SSA, the original petitioners in the anti-dumping case, has got a stay order against the refund.
India’s exports to the US has dropped to 24,627 tonnes, valued Rs 657 crore, during April-November period of the current financial year against 26,190 tonnes, valued Rs 768 crore, in the same eight-month period last year.
The US was on the leading market for Indian seafoods around five years ago. However, the US contribution to Indian seafood export basket has been dropped to 11.81 per cent during April-November period. This set back was mainly due to the anti -dumping duty and customs bond imposed by Washington in 2004.
The US DoC has also reduced the average duty for Ecuador to 2.09 per cent, Thailand to 4.51 per cent, China to 21.81 per cent and Vietnam to 25.76 per cent.
