US begins to examine shrimp exporting businesses
From June 10 to June 16, 2013, representatives of the US Department of Commerce (DOC) visited Vietnam to inspect businesses (in 3 locations: Hanoi, Nha Trang and Ca Mau) as a basis for making the final decision on anti-subsidy tax on shrimp imported from Vietnam (late August 2013).
The US began investigating Vietnamese shrimp exporting enterprises to make a final decision on anti-subsidy tax at the end of August 2013.
In photo: Tra Vinh farmers harvest shrimp - Photo: Trung Chanh.
Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said that the tax rate announced by DOC on May 29, 2013 was only a preliminary decision based on the data they collected, and now, they are going through an examination to make a final decision on shrimp imported from Vietnam, this is part of their process.
As informed, the preliminary tax rate DOC applied to Minh Qui Seafood Company, a subsidiary of Minh Phu Seafood Group, is 5.08%; Nha Trang Seafood Company is 7.05% and 6.07% is the average rate for all other Vietnamese enterprises.
Responding to the DOC's ruling, VASEP affirmed that this is an unfair and unreasonable imposition on Vietnamese shrimp processing and exporting enterprises.
“Vietnamese shrimp exporting enterprises are operating under market mechanisms, do not receive subsidies from the State in production and business activities, and have not received any separate subsidies for the shrimp industry for many years,” VASEP's press release affirmed.
According to VASEP, the DOC's preliminary ruling will greatly affect the export activities of Vietnamese enterprises to the US, affecting transactions and trade between the two countries in the current and upcoming period.
The DOC’s decision will directly affect the lives of more than 600,000 Vietnamese people, including shrimp farmers and workers working in the production, processing and export sectors in Vietnam. “The DOC’s decision on Vietnamese shrimp is an extremely unreasonable decision,” said Mr. Hoe.
According to (ThuysanVietnam) - LC
