South Mississippi shrimp processors hope more customers will buy U.S. shrimp now that federal agencies have finalized a new tax, or duty, on shrimp from four foreign countries.
The U..S. Department of Commerce and U.S. International Trade Commission have ruled that frozen shrimp from Indonesia are being "dumped" on the U.S. market, or sold at less than fair market value. The agencies say the countries of Ecuador, India, and Vietnam are subsidizing their shrimp imports.
Because of the unfair competitive advantage, duties of varying amounts will be imposed on "warmwater" shrimp from those countries, meaning American buyers will pay more and, theoretically, be more likely to buy shrimp caught in American waters. "Warmwater" shrimp also applies to those caught off the U.S. coastline.
The tariffs will remain in place for five years, when the federal agencies will determine whether they are still needed.
Bethany Fayard, vice president of Ocean Springs Seafood, buys shrimp from Coast docks and sells them to restaurants and other distributors.
"The tariffs are finally starting to take effect," she said. "We're finally starting to see it. They don't close the gap (in prices)," she said, "but it's better than nothing."
The taxes were imposed after preliminary determinations in March and May that the four foreign countries were unfairly competing. The final determinations reached more recently mean the duties will stay in place. Fayard said she saw that one size of shrimp went up by 30 cents a pound, the biggest increase she has seen.
American shrimp generally still cost more, but the difference in prices is smaller.
Restaurants serving imported shrimp
Frank Parker, a sixth-generation fisherman who specializes in shrimp at Fair Maiden Seafood in Ocean Springs, told the Sun Herald that the United States has been imposing duties on shrimp since 2006, "but it hasn't helped one bit."
He said diners and other buyers need to pay more attention to where their shrimp is from.
"I would bet my life that 90% of the shrimp consumed in restaurants locally are foreign. The biggest scam is the royal reds (a specialty shrimp). Ninety-nine percent of royal reds sold here are Argentina pink shrimp. It's like comparing oranges to satsumas.
"We need restaurants held accountable. Sadly, our legislators bend to the restaurants' powerful lobby. When we go to Jackson, it's on deaf ears."
Shrimp processors pushed for duties
American processors pushed for shrimp duties, which are taxes imposed on consumers.
Fayard said a lot of work went into getting the taxes. Each year for several years, she and other members of the American Shrimp Processors Association have filled out 60-page surveys about the shrimp they've sold.
She said she's losing customers every year to imports. She hopes the new duties will help.
The American Shrimp Processors Association reported that imports had dropped by 16% in June, after the preliminary duties on shrimp were imposed. The duties were in response to a petition the association filed in October 2023, a post on the organization's Facebook page says.
The import data for June came from the U.S. Census Bureau and shows imports of frozen, "warmwater" shrimp, as opposed to shrimp from cold waters, fell by 20 million pounds over the previous June, with the four countries subject to the new duties leading the decline.
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