BILOXI, Miss., Feb. 7, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determined that there was a reasonable indication that the domestic shrimp industry is injured by subsidized imports of shrimp from China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. COGSI filed petitions seeking relief from subsidized shrimp imports on December 28, 2012. The Commerce Department initiated the government investigations on January 18, 2013.
"Today we cleared another hurdle on the path to obtain relief from massive and unfair government support of their industries in seven key shrimp exporting nations," said David Veal, Executive Director of COGSI. "We appreciate the efforts of the Commission staff in the preliminary injury investigation and are thankful that the Commission's vote will permit the investigations to move to the next stage."
"We look forward to further developing our case against foreign shrimp subsidies before both the ITC and the DOC," said Eddy Hayes, Counsel to COGSI and partner at the firm of Leake Andersson. "COGSI members are so pleased that the ITC has decided that the case we brought on behalf of the entire Gulf region meets the preliminary injury standards of the statute and that the cases will now move on to determine the level of subsidization. The very survival of the U.S. Gulf Shrimp community from the boats to the processors is at stake here."
"The domestic shrimp processing industry and its suppliers need countervailing duty relief to offset the injurious effects of massive subsidies provided by our trading partners to their shrimp producers," said Elizabeth Drake, a partner at the Firm of Stewart and Stewart and the lead attorney on the cases for COGSI. "We are working very hard to achieve a positive outcome for COGSI and the entire U.S. shrimp community. Relief would give the U.S. shrimp industry the opportunity to compete under free and fair market conditions."
This decision by the ITC means that the petitions filed by the Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries (COGSI) detailing government subsidies from these nations will now proceed to the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) for an examination of countervailable subsidies provided on shrimp exports to the U.S. and then to a final injury investigation and determination by the ITC. A final decision from the ITC on the merits of the COGSI case to level the playing field is expected sometime in the second half of 2013. A final affirmative decision down the road by both Commerce and the ITC on the case would lead to the imposition of countervailing duties on up to $4.3 billion of shrimp imports.
About the Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries: The Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries was formed to support these petitions and to work for the long-term survival of the entire Gulf shrimp industry. The domestic producers supporting the petitions account the vast majority of domestic U.S. production, and they represent the industry across the coastal states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas. For a fact sheet with more information on the petitions filed on December 28, 2012 go to www.gulfshrimpcoalition.com