The United States has lowered its anti-dumping duty on Thai shrimp, which will facilitate market access after Thailand has faced tough competition with export rivals for many years.

The levy reduction came after the World Trade Organisation's ruling that the US was breaching the trade body's regulation on calculation of duties against unfair prices.
The Thai Foreign Trade Department yesterday reported that the US had reduced the duty for the fifth time since the WTO ruling.

The anti-dumping duty has been reduced from 1.11-4.39 per cent last year to 0.41-0.73 per cent at present.

Surasak Riangkrul, deputy director-general of the department, said the lower tariff would increase Thai export competitiveness after facing high duties for many years. The rate of the duty is also less than that for India, a major export rival to the US.

India is facing an anti-dumping duty of 1.36-2.31 per cent for its shrimp exported to the United States. Washington is revising its anti-dumping duties for China and Vietnam. If those countries face higher duties, Thailand should enjoy a higher export share, he said.
Surasak added that Thai shrimp exporters expected the US to eliminate the anti-dumping duty in the near future, as Thailand has not dumped on the market for a long time.

The United States is the main export destination for Thai shrimp, accounting for 43 per cent of the total export value, followed by Japan and Canada. Thai shrimp exports to the US have grown gradually each year.

Thai shrimp exports to the US increased by 13.46 per cent to US$314.18 million (Bt9.352 billion) in the first half of the year. Total value of shrimp shipments was up by 15.1 per cent in the first half of the year to $1.44 billion.