Indian Seafood Exports to United States to be Hit Close.

Indian seafood exports to the US will be hit due to the soft pedaling of the Union Government with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the anti-dumping duty on shrimp.

The country has not been able to take advantage of the recent judgment of WTO that stated the US was violating rules using zeroing method ( a framework for calculating duties on goods sold at less than their price on the exporter's home market) to impose anti-dumping tariffs on shrimp from Vietnam.

The decision by a three-member panel of WTO was the latest on a series in which zeroing has been found illegal under WTO agreement. As a result, Vietnam has got rid off the duty which was effective since August, 2004.

Earlier Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, EU, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Thailand had won their zeroing cases at WTO. China too has launched its case this February. But India has not seriously proceeded with the case till now, according to Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) president D B Ravi Reddy.

The US Department of Commerce has in previous frozen shrimp administrative reviews consistently overruled the Indian respondents' submissions that zeroing should not be applied.

Without zeroing, the Indian shrimp exporters have an opportunity to secure zero rates in three successive reviews and seek revocation of anti-dumping duty order. Currently the anti-dumping duty for India stands at 1.69 %.

As a result of the anti-dumping duty, the share of Indian seafood exports to the US has fallen from 30 to 40% before slapping the duty to 15 % now. The total seafood exports had touched Rs 12,900 crore in 2010-11.

The number of Indian seafood exporters sending shipments to the US has dropped to 68 from 238.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com