U.S., Vietnam resolve shrimp trade disputes

The United States government has entered into an agreement with the Vietnamese government to end two longtime World Trade Organization disputes involving imports of Vietnamese shrimp into the U.S.    The United States government has entered into an agreement with the Vietnamese government to end two longtime World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes involving imports of Vietnamese shrimp into the U.S.
   The agreement provides a framework to settle certain U.S. court litigation, as well as resolve certain outstanding duty claims covering various administrative reviews of the U.S. warmwater shrimp antidumping duty order.
   “We welcome the resolution of this longstanding issue,” said Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Barbara Weisel in a statement Monday. “This agreement demonstrates the commitment of the United States and Vietnam to address outstanding issues as we work to take our relationship to the next level.”
   The agreement resolves two outstanding WTO disputes brought by Vietnam: United States–Antidumping Measures on Certain Shrimp from Vietnam (DS404) and United States–Antidumping Measures on Certain Shrimp from Vietnam (DS429).
   The WTO disputes and litigation arise from a 2005 order by the U.S. Commerce Department imposing antidumping duties on certain frozen warmwater shrimp from Vietnam.
   As part of the agreement, Vietnamese frozen shrimp exporter, Minh Phu Group, will no longer be subject to the U.S. antidumping order. In addition, certain domestic litigation will be resolved and duty deposits will be refunded to the Minh Phu Group. However, the antidumping duty order will remain in place for all other Vietnamese exporters of warmwater shrimp, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said.