U.S. Shrimpers Seek Duties on Imports
Shrimpers in the southern United States asked the Bush administration to slap duties on shrimp shipments from China, Vietnam, Ecuador, Brazil, India and Thailand to stem cheap imports of the shellfish.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance sent petitions to the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission asking that conditions of fair trade be restored by imposing anti-dumping duties on the shrimp imports from the six countries.
Preliminary duties could be imposed on shrimp imports in the spring depending on rulings from the two agencies.
The industry group, representing shrimpers in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, complains that several countries have flooded the U.S. market with pond-raised shrimp at below-market prices.
Industry estimates put total U.S. imports of shrimp at $5 billion to $6 billion annually.
From Reuters
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