| The US slightly increased anti-dumping tax on Vietnamese pangasius. The US announced anti-subsidy tax on shrimp from Vietnam, India and Ecuador. |
Regarding the case, the Department of Trade Defense, Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the case was initiated on November 14, 2023 and was investigated by the US Department of Commerce at the request of the American Shrimp Processors Association with the investigation period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022.
In this case, the US Department of Commerce selected the two enterprises with the largest export volume of investigated products from Vietnam to the United States during the investigation period as mandatory respondents. On January 4, 2024, one of the two defendants submitted a petition to the US Department of Commerce to stop participating in the investigation. Accordingly, only one enterprise remained as a mandatory respondent in the case.
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| Processing shrimp for export. Photo: VNA |
Based on the review of information from relevant parties including the Vietnamese Government and exporting enterprises and the US plaintiff, the US Department of Commerce has determined the preliminary countervailing duty rate for Vietnamese enterprises as follows: 2.84% for the sole mandatory defendant enterprise and for all remaining enterprises; 196.41% for the sole defendant enterprise not participating in the case. The tax rate of 196.41% is determined based on available adverse facts that cause the tax rate to be higher than that of other enterprises.
According to the Department of Trade Defense, from the beginning of the case, the US Department of Commerce investigated 40 programs/policies of the Vietnamese Government, belonging to the following groups: Loan and guarantee programs; corporate income tax incentive programs; receivables exemption programs; land incentive programs; and funding programs.
Notably, the US Department of Commerce is investigating a series of programs under the Fisheries Development Strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2045 under Decision No. 339/QD-TTg dated March 11, 2021 of the Prime Minister and the Fisheries Development Program for the period 2021 - 2030.
On February 5 and 23, 2024, the US Department of Commerce continued to investigate a number of new programs, based on the request of the US plaintiff, related to: income tax, land rent exemption; providing electricity, water, wastewater treatment and telecommunications services at lower than normal value and providing parent shrimp, shrimp seeds and shrimp feed at lower than normal value. This makes the number of programs investigated in this case (nearly 50 programs) the largest ever in anti-subsidy investigations against Vietnamese exports.
In its preliminary findings, the US Department of Commerce determined that 24 of the nearly 50 programs under investigation were actionable subsidies, and 13 programs were not actionable subsidies. The US Department of Commerce has also temporarily not issued a preliminary finding on 12 programs because the US Department of Commerce needs more time to collect information and evaluate these programs.
After the Preliminary Determination is published in the Federal Register, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will proceed to request deposits for shipments exported to the United States subject to the above preliminary countervailing duty rates.
The Department of Trade Defense said that the US Department of Commerce will conduct an investigation to verify the information provided by the Vietnamese Government and businesses. This is one of the bases for the US Department of Commerce to issue the Final Conclusion, giving official tax rates for Vietnamese businesses.
Interested parties may also submit comments on the Preliminary Conclusions or views on the case no later than 7 days after the date the final examination report is issued in the case. Rebuttals to comments from other parties shall be submitted no later than 5 days after the deadline for submitting initial comments.
In addition, interested parties may also submit a written request to the U.S. Department of Commerce for a hearing, limited to the issues raised in the comments and counter-arguments, within 30 days of the date the U.S. Department of Commerce issues the Notice of Preliminary Determination.
The U.S. Department of Commerce is expected to issue its final determination on subsidies no later than August 5, 2024 (unless further extension is granted). The U.S. International Trade Commission will then issue its final determination on injury within 45 days of the U.S. Department of Commerce's final determination.
The Trade Remedies Authority recommends that businesses prepare and cooperate well with the US Department of Commerce in the upcoming review as well as provide opinions and comments on the US Department of Commerce's Preliminary Conclusion in case there are unreasonable points or non-compliance with WTO regulations.
“The preparation and active participation of enterprises in the review as well as the comments/objections of enterprises will have a direct impact on the final Conclusion of the DOC ” - the Department of Trade Defense emphasized,
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