This case study deals with the way in which the Indian shrimp industry responded when faced with an anti-dumping action in the United States. It also indicates the potential impact of the anti-dumping action on the fragmented, small-producers-dominated industry.

The case history

On 31 December 2003, the Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee (ASTAC), an association of shrimp farmers in eight southern states of the United States, filed an anti-dumping petition against six countries – Brazil, China, Ecuador, India, Thailand and Vietnam. The petition alleged that these countries had dumped their shrimps in the US market. Though the actual petition was made by the Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee, whose members are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) had been organizing the process of seeking redress.

The petition meeting statutory requirements, on 21 January 2004 the US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced the initiation of anti-dumping investigations against the six countries. Products covered include warm water shrimp, whether frozen or canned, wild caught (ocean harvested) or farm-raised (produced by aqua-culture), head-on or head-off, shell-on or peeled, tail-on or tail-off, deveined or not deveined, cooked or raw, or otherwise processed in frozen or canned form.

The Department notified the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its decision on initiation. On 17 February 2004 the International Trade Commission announced its decision that there was a reasonable indication that the US shrimp industry is materially injured or threatened with material injury by imports, allegedly at less than fair value, from the six identified countries.