Vietnam has launched its first dispute at the World Trade Organization with a case against US anti-dumping measures on its key exports of shrimp.
According to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), shrimp export prices depend on the size of shrimps, for example higher prices are paid for bigger size shrimp. As Vietnam mostly exports big shrimp, its average export price is always high. This explains why previously, the tax rates imposed by the US on Vietnamese exports were relatively low compared to other countries.
However, not all consignments of shrimp exported by Vietnam to the US have high prices. As sometimes Vietnam exports smaller size shrimp to and it gets lower prices. Meanwhile, the US DOC has been following a calculation method under which it ignores consignments of shrimp, which have export prices higher than the average price for that shrimp size, which leads it to conclude that Vietnam dumps the consignments of shrimp that have lower prices.
Talking with VnExpress.net yesterday, head of Ministry of Industry and Trade's Competition Management Agency, Bach Van Mung confirmed that US has imposed anti-dumping tariff on Vietnam's frozen shrimp, which is not in line with WTO's rules. Vietnam wants to hold discussions with US on this.
If the discussion does not go into fruition, Vietnam will sue US in WTO. Mung said.
If the dispute is over, Vietnamese enterprises will escape from the anti-dumping lawsuit, which will help improve Vietnam's shrimp export market and enhance the competitive strength of local firms against regional countries.
However, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that there is a good chance Vietnam could win the lawsuit. According to the official, the spirit of the WTO's AD is that anti-dumping activities are abolished, not that more tax revenue is generated.
Truong Dinh Hoe, secretary general of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, said Vietnamese exporters have opposed the US method of calculating antidumping duties known as zeroing, which has been condemned repeatedly by WTO courts and rejected by all other WTO members.
Lawyer Tran Huu Quynh, head of the legal department of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said that all WTO members can depend on WTO for dealing with the commercial disputes. Vietnam will sue US (if bilateral discussions do not come into fruition) based on legislation and reality, he shared.
With the same point of view, Truong Dinh Hoe, general director of Vasep in a statement said that in 2009 the association proposed US Department of Commerce (DOC) to re-consider imposing of anti-dumping tariff on Vietnam's frozen shrimp. Factually, some countries like Thailand and India succeeded in suing US to WTO on the unreasonable imposing of tariff. Vietnam can win, Hoe expected.
In November 2004, US DOC released a decision that Vietnam and China dumped frozen and canned shrimp in US market. Currently, Vietnamese shrimp exporters are assessed the anti-dumping tax rates of between 4.13 to 25.76 percent when sending products to the US market.
Vasep reported, Vietnam's shrimp export last year earned $1.675 billion, in which the shrimp export to US accounted for over $490 million, EU $281.466 million, US over $395 million, down 15.4 percent year-on-year. The market share of Vietnamese shrimp in US dropped from 28.7 percent in 2008 to 23.6 percent in 2009. Vietnam now ranks the fifth in terms of shrimp export to US, after Thailand and some exporters.
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