The Southern Shrimp Alliance has announced its intention to participate in the U.S. Commerce Department and International Trade Commission (ITC)’s investigation into allegations of unfair shrimp export subsidies by seven foreign countries, but the alliance has taken no position on the issue itself yet.The alliance, through its shrimp industry committee, filed papers with the ITC asking to participate. The ITC is currently looking into petitions from the Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries (COGSI) claiming that the governments of seven nations — China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam — are subsidizing their respective industries at home, driving down the cost and price of shrimp sold in the U.S. The coalition has argued this practice, known as “dumping,” is unfair to domestic producers.
A spokesman for the ITC has said it could take as long as a year to finish the investigation. If the allegations are found to have merit, the Commerce Department would then issue higher duties to imported shrimp from those countries to balance the market.
The alliance’s position on the allegations, however, is unclear. The release indicated “there are aspects of (COGSI’s) petitions that raise questions,” but the alliance also said it “has taken no position regarding the petitions.”
The alliance, which represents 180 seafood companies and industry groups, did take issue with a claim by COGSI that the coalition represents 97.76 percent of all domestic shrimp processing, which the alliance called “impossible.” Citing data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the alliance argued COGSI did not represent such a large percentage of the domestic shrimp industry.
But when asked to comment on the substance of COGSI’s claims, Deborah Long, a spokesman for the alliance, only reinforced the alliance’s ongoing interest in a fair market, and acknowledged that countervailing duties will be an effective tool for countering unfair subsidies, if in fact they exist.
“That would help the industry as a whole,” she said.
