The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has stood behind its decision to level antidumping duties against Ecuadorian shrimp exporters.
DOC announced in May that it found sufficient evidence that the Sociedad Nacional de Galapagos (SONGA) was selling shrimp in the U.S. at less than fair value and hit the company with a 10.58 percent antidumping duty. That duty was also applied across the wider Ecuadorian shrimp industry, with other companies being hit with a 10.58 percent dumping margin and a 10.18 percent cash deposit rate.
The only company to escape duties in Ecuador was Santa Priscila, which DOC said was not engaging in dumping on a level significant enough to qualify for duties.
In a new memo, DOC said that appeals from both SONGA for a lower rate and from the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) against Santa Priscila for a higher rate failed to show sufficient errors from the department for it to amend those findings.
Both SONGA and the ASPA alleged that DOC committed “ministerial errors” when calculating the extent of dumping by the companies named in its reports. SONGA alleged the department’s calculations related to what the company paid to affiliated and unaffiliated suppliers for raw shrimp were flawed and unintentionally omitted certain key pieces of information.
However, DOC said that the calculations did not constitute ministerial errors and that it relied on the information provided by SONGA.
“We find that DOC's preliminary calculation of the major input cost adjustment was based on the information provided by SONGA, which does not constitute a mathematical, clerical, or unintentional error as contemplated in the Act and regulations,” DOC wrote.
DOC also disagreed with the ASPA’s assertion that it miscalculated duties for Santa Priscila. ASPA argued that some of the calculations did not take into account certain raw shrimp as inputs purchased from an “affiliated party.” DOC said its calculations, which considered those “affiliated parties” as self-production by Santa Priscila, were accurate.
“Under section 773(f)(2) of the [Tariff Act of 1930], the transactions disregarded rule only applies to transactions between affiliated parties and does not apply to a respondent’s internal operations,” DOC said.
DOC also added in its rejection of the appeals that it will be reviewing the reported data as it continues its investigations.
“We intend to review SONGA’s reported raw shrimp transfer and market prices at verification, and we will revisit the appropriateness of our adjustments for the final determination,” DOC said.
Soon after the new update on 26 June, ASPA requested a hearing from DOC in relation to the antidumping investigation, as did SONGA.
DOC posted its preliminary determination on 22 May, 2024, and its final determination will be issued “no later” than 135 days after that date – or 4 October 2024.
