The Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO) said it has received a lawsuit filed by Vietnam against the US imposition of anti-dumping tariffs on its frozen shrimp.
This is the first time Vietnam has launched a lawsuit since it joined the WTO in January 2007.
Vietnam also sent a request to the US on Feb. 1 to discuss its imposition of anti-dumping measures on Vietnam’s frozen shrimp. Vietnam will be free to propose that the WTO set up a committee to settle the dispute if the two countries cannot reach an agreement on the issue within 60 days.
In November, 2004, the US Department of Commerce (DoC) issued its final decision, saying that Vietnam and China dumped frozen and canned shrimp on the US market.
The DoC separated Vietnam and China from other shrimp exporters and classified the two countries as non-market economies. Vietnam’s shrimp exporters are suffering from tariffs ranging from 4.13 percent to 25.76 percent.
The DoC plans to reconsider its decision to impose anti-dumping taxes on shrimp imported from Vietnam, China, India and Thailand. However, the American Shrimp Processors Association, which proposed the imposition of these taxes, have demanded the protectionist measure remain, saying that US producers are being severely damaged by imported shrimp./.