On November 21, 2023, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced the initiation of an anti-subsidy investigation (CTC) on frozen warm water shrimp products imported from a number of countries, including Vietnam. .

 

1. Case information:

 

- Products under investigation: Frozen warm water shrimp under HS codes 0306.17, 1605.21 and 1605.29.

 

- Countries under investigation: Ecuador, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. In particular, Vietnam is only under CTC investigation, because the above mentioned Vietnamese shrimp products have been subject to anti-dumping tax by the United States since 2004 until now.

 

- Scope of subsidies under investigation: DOC initiated an investigation into subsidies for both frozen shrimp and fresh shrimp from Vietnam, because fresh raw shrimp accounts for a large proportion of up to 95% of the value of frozen warm water shrimp, Therefore, subsidies for Vietnamese fresh shrimp suppliers are also considered subsidies for Vietnamese frozen shrimp exporters.

 

- Subsidy investigation period: 2022

 

- Injury investigation period: from 2020 to the first half of 2023

 

- Subsidy programs under investigation: a total of up to 40 programs, belonging to the following groups: (i) group of loan and guarantee programs; (ii) group of corporate income tax incentive programs; (iii) group of receivables forgiveness programs; (iv) group of land incentive programs; (v) group of sponsorship programs. In particular, DOC investigated a series of programs under the Fisheries Development Strategy to 2030, vision to 2045 according to Decision No. 339/QD-TTg dated March 11, 2021 of the Prime Minister and the Development Program. development of the fisheries industry in the period 2021 - 2030,

 

- Exports to the United States: according to data from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in 2022, Vietnam will export about 800 million USD of accused products to the United States, accounting for about 20% of the total market share of shrimp exports to the United States.

 

2. Processes and procedures

 

2.1. US Department of Commerce (DOC)

 

- Selection of mandatory defendants: DOC determined that there were 1,046 Vietnamese export manufacturers exporting investigated products to the United States during the investigation period. As usual, DOC will not investigate all named businesses, but will select 2-3 mandatory defendants for separate investigation (usually Vietnam's largest exporters according to Customs data). US officials). The tax rate for these mandatory defendants will be the basis for determining the CTC tax rate for the remaining businesses.

 

- Response to the Investigation Questionnaire: after identifying the mandatory defendant, DOC will issue the Investigation Questionnaire to the Government and the mandatory defendants. The response deadline is usually 30 days from the date of issuance of the questionnaire (can be extended). DOC may issue additional questionnaires.

 

- Preliminary conclusion: 65 days from the date of initiation (expected around January 18, 2024), possible extension.

 

- On-site verification: after having preliminary conclusions, DOC can conduct on-site verification of the Government and businesses.

 

- Final conclusion: 75 days from the date of issuance of the Preliminary Conclusion (expected around April 2, 2024), possible extension.

 

2.2. US International Trade Commission (ITC)

 

- Preliminary conclusion: 45 days from the date of receipt of the Complaint (expected around December 11, 2023).

 

- Final conclusion: 205 days from the date of receipt of the Complaint (expected around May 17, 2024).

 

Only when the DOC determines that a subsidy exists and the USITC determines that the domestic industry suffers damage due to subsidized imports, will the United States issue an Order imposing tariffs on Vietnam. If either party determines that no subsidy or injury exists, the case will end.

 

3. Recommendations

To best protect the rights and interests of Vietnamese export enterprises, the Trade Remedies Authority recommends that associations and related export enterprises:

 

(i) For the Association: support notification to businesses exporting investigated products; proactively research and develop plans to respond and handle cases.

 

(ii) For enterprises manufacturing and exporting related products:

 

 - Review support programs/policies received (if any) during the investigation phase, prepare relevant documents, books and documents in advance.

 

-Proactively research and master US anti-subsidy investigation regulations and procedures, and DOC's information requirements to comply properly in case of participating in a case.

 

- Prepare resources for handling the case.

 

- Closely monitor the developments of the case, especially the results of mandatory defendant selection and related questionnaires, by registering an account at DOC's e-portal on trade defense - ACCESS (https ://access.trade.gov/login.aspx) to update information and submit relevant documents and materials (when necessary) to the US investigation agency.

 

- Coordinate closely with the Association and the Trade Remedies Department throughout the process of the case.

 

For further information, please contact: Foreign Trade Remedies Handling Department, Trade Remedies Authority, Ministry of Industry and Trade, 23 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi (Expert in charge: Tran Thi Lan Huong, Phone: 024.7303.7898, Email : nganha@moit.gov.vn, huongttl@moit.gov.vn).

 

See DOC's initiation notice here.

 

Source: Trade Remedies Department of Vietnam