Returning to the story of the anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD) that Vietnamese shrimp is currently facing in the US market: Since the end of 2003, Vietnamese shrimp has been officially subject to anti-dumping lawsuits from the US. After a period of effort to prove its case, in 2015, the AD duty on Vietnamese shrimp was officially reduced to 0%, significantly contributing to maintaining its market share in the US from then until now. Also related to this type of tax, according to legal consultants, the preliminary results of the 19th administrative review (PR19) will be available in July, and the final results will be announced by the US side in December 2025. According to legal consultants from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Processing and Export (VASEP), the accounting records reported by businesses in this review are very good, so it is likely that Vietnamese shrimp will continue to enjoy a 0% AD rate.
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| With the announced 46% tariff, the shrimp industry will face even greater difficulties in entering the US market. Photo: TICH CHU |
Following the anti-dumping (AD) tax, in 2023, Vietnamese shrimp continued to face a CVD (Container Drug and Vulnerability) lawsuit in the US market, with a preliminary tax rate of 2.84%. According to VASEP, the CVD lawsuit will be reviewed for the first time at the end of this year, using the company's operations in 2024 as a basis for verification. While these two taxes are still causing difficulties for Vietnamese shrimp in the US market, recently, at 4 PM on April 2nd (Washington DC time), US President Donald Trump announced a new tariff policy on goods imported into the US, in which the tax rate for Vietnamese goods is very high, up to 46%. According to Mr. Ho Quoc Luc - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company, this new tax rate, along with the AD and CVD taxes, means that Vietnamese shrimp are burdened with three taxes when entering the US market.
Regarding AD and CVD taxes, according to Mr. Luc, Vietnamese businesses can handle the matter together with the plaintiff and the US Department of Commerce (DOC). As for import taxes, that's a matter between the two governments , so businesses should just wait. Mr. Luc also stated that, in reality, no Vietnamese business would engage in dumping practices that would lead to financial losses, and we have the confidence and capacity to explain and persuade the DOC if they send someone to conduct an on-site inspection. "The US shrimp industry is less competitive compared to imported shrimp because their shrimp farming isn't as successful as other countries, and their processing facilities are small and not of a high standard," Mr. Luc shared.
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| Once shrimp exports to the US market face difficulties, businesses will certainly shift their focus to more favorable markets. Photo: TICH CHU |
In an interview regarding the impact of this new reciprocal import tax, Mr. Dang Ngoc Son, Deputy General Director of Camimex Company ( Ca Mau ), stated that this issue is still too new for businesses to fully assess its impact. For Camimex specifically, since most of their shrimp exports go to Europe and Japan, and the US market is relatively small, the overall impact is not significant. However, from a macro perspective, this reciprocal import tax will have a substantial impact on Vietnamese goods exported to the US, including shrimp. Mr. Son added: “Once shrimp exports to the US market face difficulties, businesses will certainly shift to more favorable markets. Competition will then become more intense, and importers will not miss the opportunity to pressure prices.”
According to VASEP, this tariff is calculated based on the bilateral trade deficit ratio and reflects the US effort to rebalance global trade and put pressure on its trading partners. This tariff remains in effect until the US President determines that the threat posed by the trade deficit and fundamental non-reciprocal treatment has been resolved or mitigated. Furthermore, it allows the US President the authority to increase tariffs if trading partners retaliate or reduce tariffs if they take significant steps to rectify non-reciprocal trade agreements and align with the US on economic and national security issues.
This reciprocal import tariff issue is no longer just a matter between Vietnamese businesses and the plaintiffs and the DOC, but a matter between the two governments. It's also worth noting that Vietnam proactively took initial steps to respond to this reciprocal tariff policy by reducing tariffs on many imported goods from the US, such as automobiles, ethanol, and frozen chicken thighs, before the US President issued the new reciprocal import tariff. Simultaneously, the trade deficit through imports of US goods in the first two months of the year increased by 17.7% compared to the same period last year. Hopefully, with these very goodwill steps from Vietnam, Vietnamese goods (including shrimp) will not have to bear the high tariffs as announced.
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Source: https://baosoctrang.org.vn/kinh-te/202504/con-tom-oan-minh-cong-thue-f46595a/
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