U.S. proposes tariffs on shrimp from four nations

NEW ORLEANS – The Bush administration proposed tariffs Thursday on shrimp imports from four of the largest shrimp-producing nations in Asia and South America, accusing them of hurting domestic producers by dumping shellfish on the U.S. market at artificially low prices.

The proposed tariffs against Brazil, Ecuador, India and Thailand ranged from 4 percent to 68 percent – far smaller than Southern shrimpers and processors had sought.

Although the ruling was preliminary, it will probably stand. The Commerce Department will make a final decision by December and the U.S. International Trade Commission will decide in February if imports have damaged the domestic industry, a determination it has already reached in a preliminary ruling.

The ruling, released in Washington, came three weeks after the Commerce Department proposed tariffs on China and Vietnam.

The six countries provide about 75 percent of the shrimp Americans eat.

“I hope that the shrimpers who brought this case will feel vindicated,” said James Jochum, Commerce assistant secretary for import administration. But he said it was unclear if the duties would have an “immediate benefit to the shrimpers.”

Southern shrimpers said the action was a mixed victory.

“We commend the Department of Commerce for imposing antidumping duties, but feel that in certain instances the duties underestimate the seriousness of the violations,” said Eddie Gordon, the president of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, an eight-state group that filed the unfair trade petition.

The shrimp alliance has said dumping cut the value of the U.S. harvest by more than half between 2000 and 2002, from $1.25 billion to $560 million.

Opponents of tariffs say duties could drive shrimp prices up and do little to boost a domestic industry unable to meet the country’s demand for shrimp. They contend the dumping charges were exaggerated. All four countries have denied the charges.

“The only thing I can say is that the gap between the allegations and the reality is significant,” said Warren Connelly, a trade lawyer for Ecuador.

The tariffs proposed Thursday varied according to each country’s sales and production costs. Brazilian exporters faced the stiffest duties, at up to 68 percent.