The United States yesterday announced anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese shrimp as high as 113 per cent, a move that will hurt both US consumers and Chinese shrimp farmers.

The US Department of Commerce said it found, with the exception of one Chinese producer, shrimp were being sold in the United States at a "less than fair value."

It set punitive anti-dumping duties in a range of 27.89 to 112.81 per cent, which raises the floor tariff from 7.67 per cent under the preliminary ruling in July.

One step remains before the tariffs are implemented. The US International Trade Commission will meet on January 12 next year to decide whether shrimp imports threaten the US industry and, if so, to issue the final anti-dumping order.

Chinese shrimp farmers and exporters strongly opposed the US ruling, claiming they are not dumping.

Jiang Mingkai, a manager from the Zhonglian Aquatic Product Co, said: "If we sell at below-cost prices or prices lower than in the domestic market, we cannot make a profit."

The company exported 3,600 tons of shrimp at a price of US$5,000 a ton last year.

An official from the Chinese Shrimp Industry Alliance said earlier that Chinese shrimp producers were able to sell at prices far lower than American shrimp producers because they invested in modern technology for their shrimp farms and have lower labour costs.

Chinese producers farm shrimp, while their US counterparts harvest the crustaceans from the sea.

The ruling may threaten the livelihood of millions of Chinese shrimp farmers after the US door closes.

US consumers will also face a price hike. More than 90 per cent of the country's shrimp are imported from other countries.

(China Daily 12/02/2004 page9)