China lashes out at US decision to impose duties on shrimp

China Thursday roundly condemned a United States decision to impose anti-dumping duties on shrimp of up to 133 percent, calling the move unfair and unhelpful. "Resorting to such anti-dumping measures that restrict the imports of shrimp products thoroughly impedes an effective solution to this matter," China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
"We hope that the US International Trade Commission will be able to impart an objective and fair final solution in this damaging case as well as treat Chinese enterprises more fairly," it said.
The US Department of Commerce announced Tuesday it had found that with the exception of one Chinese producer, imported shrimp from China and Vietnam was being sold in the United States at "less than fair value."
It set punitive anti-dumping duties in a range of 27.89 to 112.81 percent on Chinese imports, and 4.13 to 25.76 percent for Vietnamese imports.
Chinese exporters also lashed out at Washington.
"The US Department of Commerce ruling is severely unfair," the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for Imports and Export of Foodstuffs and Native Produce and Animal by-products said in a statement.
The chamber accused the US of adopting unreasonably high prices from a substitute country so as to measure the costs of Chinese producers.
"It can be said that the US Department of Commerce, in order to limit the export of Chinese shrimps to the US, is using every means possible and is ignoring US law," the chamber said.
The ministry said that the Chinese shrimp industry was competitive because of good weather and low costs of labour. "Furthermore, China's shrimp industry is composed of mainly small enterprises and they definitely cannot export to the US at lower than the normal value," it said.
Chinese companies, most of which are based in southern Guangdong and eastern Zhejiang provinces, will be eligible for separate rates if they can show their cost and prices are free from government subsidies.
"If the penalty margin is higher than 10 percent, we make no profits," the Shanghai Daily quoted Qi Mingjun, an official with Zhejiang Zhoushan Cereals and Oils Imports and Exports Company, as saying.
Earlier this week, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said the dumping allegations were groundless.
The quasi-judicial US International Trade Commission will meet in January to decide whether the shrimp imports threaten US industry and, if so, to issue a final anti-dumping order.