WTO appoints members of panel on Vietnam shrimp lawsuit

The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy has appointed three members for the panel on the Vietnam’s lawsuit against the U.S. imposition of antidumping taxes on the country’s frozen shrimp.

The members comprised of Mr. Mohammad Saeed, Counselor at Pakistan Mission to the WTO Geneva; Mrs. Deborah Milstein from the Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor; and Mr. Ian Sandford, Special Counsel & Director, International Trade Group of Australia.

Pascal Lamy made the decision as Vietnam and the U.S could not reach any agreement about members of the panel after 60-day discussions.

The panel is expected to conduct the final report on the issue after six-month working.

Earlier, Vietnam had requested the WTO to set up a dispute settlement panel to examine the U.S.’s “zeroing” method on calculating antidumping duties on frozen shrimp imports.

This is the first trade dispute to involve Vietnam since it became the global trade body’s 150th member in Nov 2007.

The U.S. is imposing antidumping duties ranging from 2.5% to 25.76% on frozen shrimp imported from Vietnam. (VNA)

Tags: Vietnam Shrimp Lawsuit