Bhubaneswar: Shrimp exporters from India, particularly those in Odisha, are anxious as the United States prepares to review its anti-dumping and countervailing duties on shrimp next month. Industry experts are calling for government intervention to help mitigate the challenges posed by intense global competition.

Exporters argue that the methodology used by the US to calculate these duties is flawed. They believe the Indian government should address these concerns directly with US authorities, as local traders are struggling against competitors from Ecuador and Vietnam in the American market.

Yogesh Gupta, a seafood exporter based in Kolkata and Managing Director of Megaa Moda, stated that US officials mistakenly view India's RoDTEP and duty drawback programs as incentive schemes, which they are not. Both programs comply with WTO regulations and are merely duty refund mechanisms.

Gupta also pointed out that the US employs a 'zeroing' technique to determine anti-dumping duties on shrimp, which skews the margin of dumping calculations. He urged the government to support exporters by reinstating the Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme.

This flawed comparison between export prices and normal values results in distorted dumping margins. Additionally, Indian shrimp exporters are currently facing a 10% baseline tariff imposed by the US as of April 2. Fortunately, the US has suspended an additional 26% duty on Indian shrimp, but exporters still contend with an effective customs duty of 17.7%, which includes 5.77% in countervailing duties and 1.8% in anti-dumping duties.

KN Raghavan, Secretary General of the Seafood Exporters Association of India, has recently called on the government to ensure a 'level playing field' for the country's seafood exports during upcoming trade discussions before the tariff pause concludes. Another exporter highlighted that Ecuador poses the most significant competition for India, benefiting from lower duties and advantageous shipping logistics due to its proximity to the US.

Rajen Padhi, an exporter based in Odisha, noted that the anti-dumping duty has been in effect for two decades and emphasized the need for the US to establish a uniform rate for India. He mentioned, "According to international agreements, no taxes should be levied on exports. We can now persuade the US that the RoDTEP scheme is not an incentive scheme, as we have verification mechanisms in place," said Padhi, who is the Commercial Director of B One Business House Private Limited. The US remains the largest market for India's shrimp industry.

India exports 40% of its shrimp to the US, with Ecuador and Indonesia being major competitors in this market. The country has approximately 100,000 shrimp farms, primarily located in Andhra Pradesh.