USDOC levies a zero anti-dumping duty on Vietnamese shrimp products. Photo dangcongsan.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The US Department of Commerce has dropped a 4.7 per cent anti-dumping tax on Vietnamese shrimps. The tax had been in place since 2004. The new zero rate will be applied for two years until a new review is made.

The good news was announced after the department completed a review of anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese product from February 1, 2011, to January 31, 2012.

The anti-dumping tax was imposed after a review imports from 2004-06. Since then, seven reviews have been carried out.

This is the first time that the US has acknowledged that no Vietnamese shrimps are being dumped. Accordingly, all 33 Vietnamese shrimp exporters will now enjoy a zero tax rate on shrimp products exported to the US.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) said export shrimp and shrimp products were popular in the US because of their size and diversity.

In the first seven months of this year, Viet Nam earned US$337.6 million from shrimp exports to the US. This was 24 per cent of the country's total shrimp exports of $1.4 billion. Meanwhile, the country's shrimp exports to other markets have increased significantly. Sales to Japan are up 11 per cent and to the EU 3 per cent compared with the same period last year.

In a message issued on Wednesday, VASEP confirmed that Vietnamese shrimp businesses have been operating under a market economy mechanism and received no State subsidies. — VNS