A shrimp processing factory (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Although the US Department ofCommerce (DOC)’s announcement of zero-percent antidumping tariffs on 31Vietnamese shrimp exporters is just a preliminary decision and the officialruling is still to come, the transparency of Vietnamese businesses has beenproven, an official has said.
The preliminary duties were announced followingthe DOC’s 13th Period of Review (POR 13).
Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of theExport-Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said thesuccess was the result of close coordination among businesses, associations andstate agencies in dealing with importing countries’ barriers and protectionmeasures.
He noted when the antidumping duties were cut tozero, tariff barriers will be reduced, helping boost shrimp exports to the US.
Echoing this view, Truong Dinh Hoe,Secretary-General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers(VASEP), said this result indicates that Vietnamese firms sold shrimp to the USat prices that fairly competed with shrimp from other sources and that they didnot dump their products.
He considered the zero-percent tariffs anencouragement to shrimp exporters to the US this year.
[Vietnamese shrimp exporters to US to enjoy zero tariffs]
Ho Quoc Luc, Chairman of the Board of Directorsof the Sao Ta Foods JSC based in Soc Trang province, said in previous PORs,only a few businesses received a zero-percent tariff. However, in the latestreview, 31 shrimp exporters were assessed as having competed fairly in the US.
They hope that this preliminary tariff will bemaintained in the DOC’s final ruling this September, he added.
According to VASEP, Vietnam’s shrimp exportswere estimated at 550 million USD in the first three months of 2019, down 15percent year on year.
Tran Van Pham, General Director of the Soc TrangSeafood JSC, attributed this decline to fierce competition with shrimp productsfrom other countries like India and Ecuador which have expanded their shrimpfarming areas over the last two years. As a result, shrimp prices have fallen,leading to lower export value.
With zero-percent antidumping tariffs, Vietnam’sshrimp industry will now have more competitive edge than some other countries’,he said, adding that the US is still imposing antidumping duties on shrimp fromIndia, Indonesia and Ecuador.
However, Vietnamese shrimp processors andexporters are still recommended to continue improving their products pendingthe official decision of the DOC.-VNA
VNA
