US Commerce Department Begins Investigations on Imported Shrimp

The U.S. Department of Commerce has begun investigating allegedly subsidized imports of shrimp from China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, after determining that the Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries provided enough information to warrant investigations that may lead to the imposition of countervailing duties on nearly $4.3 billion of shrimp imports.

COGSI filed petitions seeking relief on Dec. 28, 2012.

“We have provided information documenting more than 100 government subsidy programs benefitting shrimp producers in these seven nations,” David Veal, executive director of COGSI, said in a written statement. “Now the department will seek information from these governments and foreign producers to determine the full extent of subsidies they are receiving.”