U.S. Shrimpers Harmed, Trade Commission Rules

The U.S. International Trade Commission said Tuesday that cheap imported shrimp is harming U.S. fishermen and recommended the federal government consider anti-dumping levies.

After reviewing thousands of pages of briefs and hearing testimony from fishermen and processors along the Gulf Coast and Southeastern seaboard, the ITC issued a 6-0 ruling that there was “a reasonable indication” that low-priced competition had harmed the domestic industry.

“This is the strongest ruling we could have possibly had,” said Deborah Regan, spokeswoman for the Southern Shrimp Alliance, the group that filed a petition in December alleging unfair competition. “They found injury, not just threat of injury. And it was a unanimous vote.”

But Matthew Nicely, an attorney representing Thailand and Vietnam in the petition, said the standard for the ITC’s preliminary ruling was too low to be considered a victory for domestic shrimpers.

“It’s the legal equivalent of passing a laugh test,” said Nicely, an attorney with Wilkie Farr & Gallagher. “They’ve got to make a decision within 45 days of the petition being filed. It’s quick and dirty.”

Tuesday’s ruling by the ITC, an independent agency that evaluates the effect of imports on U.S. companies, moves the matter to the Commerce Department, which can impose anti-dumping duties on an estimated $2.4 billion of annual shrimp imports from Brazil, China, Ecuador, India, Thailand and Vietnam. That decision is expected by June 8.

Wally Stevens, president of the American Seafood Distributors Assn., a trade group that opposes import duties, said domestic shrimpers would do better to promote their products rather than attack foreign producers. Domestic shrimpers catch shrimp in fast-moving deep waters such as the Gulf of Mexico, while most importers farm their shrimp in shallow ponds.

“The domestic fishermen are not getting the leadership they rightfully deserve from the U.S. government,” Stevens said. “Technology allows for shrimp to be produced at a lower cost than going to hunt for shrimp.”

In their petition, the alliance claimed policies by the European Union and Japan of turning away or detaining contaminated frozen shrimp made the United States a dumping ground for the allegedly unsafe imports. This deluge of low-priced shellfish has driven U.S. dockside prices down to a 40-year low, according to the Texas Shrimp Assn.

What’s more, consumer advocates say they are concerned about the level of antibiotics coming into the country from the six defendant nations. Specifically, they single out the powerful antibiotic chloramphenicol, which is banned in the U.S.

The shrimp alliance contends that the Food and Drug Administration does not have enough inspectors to monitor the millions of pounds of shellfish arriving at U.S. ports each year. Currently, more than 85% of the shrimp consumed in the United States comes from overseas.

Chloramphenicol is often prescribed to patients with meningitis after other antibiotics have failed, and can cause leukemia or trigger aplastic anemia. Shrimp farmers in the six defendant countries allegedly use the antibiotic in shallow ponds where shrimp is grown to disinfect the water from fecal matter left over from previous harvests.