On December 8, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) unanimously passed the "double anti" investigation of imported warm water shrimp with a 4-0 result, and importers will begin to pay a deposit in March 2024.

Earlier on November 15, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) decided to launch anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations against warm water shrimp from Ecuador, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. The vote of the ITC was unanimously passed, which means that the US legislature has basically determined that the imported shrimp products of the above four countries have caused damage to the local industry.

On October 25, the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) appealed to the government to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of frozen shrimp. "Shrimp product imports are growing 15.6 percent from 2020 to 2022, and this market share is growing at the expense of domestic producers," said Elizabeth Drake, an attorney representing ASPA at the hearing.

"Currently, 80 percent of the shrimp consumed in the United States comes from these four countries, which enjoy dozens of preferential government programs, including subsidized loans, tax incentives, government assistance, export credits, and land and water subsidies." Drake says.

"There are also significant dumping practices in Ecuador and Indonesia, with dumping rates of 9.55-25.82% in Ecuador and 26.13-33.95% in Indonesia. Our domestic shrimp industry is in crisis, production is down, prices are at a trough, profit margins have disappeared, and entire industries are teetering on the edge, including fishing vessels and indigenous processors in the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic. I've talked to boat owners, fishermen, dockworkers and processors over the past few months and heard the same thing over and over again, and we've never seen it this bad." Drake says.

"Today's vote validates our data showing that imports from Ecuador, India, Indonesia and Vietnam have taken market share away from domestic producers, severely driving down prices and causing serious harm to domestic shrimp processors and fishing businesses," said Trey Pearson, president of ASPA.

According to the process, the next step of the US Department of Commerce will conduct a preliminary investigation, combined with overseas producers and government data to determine the subsidy situation of imported shrimp, the earliest US importers will pay a deposit in March 2024, the specific amount of the expected countervailing duty rate.

With respect to the anti-dumping duties imposed by Ecuador and Indonesia, ASPA expects to publish its preliminary findings in May 2025. The Commerce Department's final review is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024.