Vietnam may win shrimp spat with US

Vietnam is likely to win its trade dispute with the US at the World Trade Organization over the anti-dumping measures the US has slapped against its shrimp, an American expert in trade remedy proceedings has said.

Dr. Peter J. Koenig, who served on the US Congress’ Administrative Conference Advisory Group, said at a conference in Hanoi Wednesday that he believed Vietnam would win the case because the US has a history of losing in similar cases.

But he warned that the number of anti-dumping lawsuits against Vietnamese products in the US is likely to increase since the country is no longer immune to these protectionist tactics.

It is for the first time that Vietnam has launched a trade dispute since it joined the WTO in January 2007.

It sent a request to the US February 1 to discuss its imposition of anti-dumping measures on frozen shrimp imported from Vietnam.

Vietnam can propose to the WTO to set up a committee to settle the dispute if the two countries cannot reach an agreement within 60 days.

In November 2004 the US Department of Commerce (DoC) issued its final decision saying that Vietnam and China dumped frozen and canned shrimp in the US.

The DoC separated Vietnam and China from other shrimp exporters and classified them as non-market economies. Vietnamese shrimp exporters have since faced tariffs ranging from 4.13 percent to 25.76 percent.

The DoC plans to reconsider its decision to impose anti-dumping taxes on shrimp imported from Vietnam, China, India, and Thailand.

But the American Shrimp Processors Association, which sought the imposition of these taxes, has demanded that the protectionist measure remains, saying US producers are being severely damaged by imported shrimp.

Tags: Vietnam Seafood, Vietnam seafood exports, Vietnam seafood sector, Vietnam shrimp spat with US