Thailand may not have to face high tariffs on its future shrimp exports to the United States after it produced evidence that indicated the Kingdom was not involved in the dumping practices, as alleged by the US.

Pranee Siriphand, director-general to the Foreign Trade Department said that Thai frozen shrimp exports to the US faced a more positive future, following Thailand's efforts to provide clear documentation against the US-imposed countervailing duties (CVD) on Thai shrimp.

On May 28, the US is scheduled to announce its investigation on frozen shrimp imports and whether or not it intends to impose countervailing duties against a number of export countries, including Thailand, China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Ecuador.

The US alleges Thailand subsidised exported shrimp in 13 cases, however, Pranee said that Thailand had already sent clear documentation to the Office of the US Trade Representative, protesting against the tariff.

She said that although Thailand faced countervailing duties, compared with other countries named in the US investigation, the tariff was much lower.

The US alleges that the Thai government subsidised the shrimp industry in a number of areas, including the price and financial support for farmers, in the form of soft loans. The Board of Investment of Thailand has also provided active support to shrimp manufacturers, it claims.

The anti-dumping duty on Thai shrimp by the US has been in effect since 2005. The Thai government and exporters are keen to have the tariff reduced, in order to make shrimp exports more competitive.

The US is the biggest export market for Thai shrimp, with shrimp export to the market valued at Bt45 billion a year, accounting for 45 per cent of total shrimp exports.