Shrimp Industry Group Challenges Negative EAPA Finding at CIT

CBP incorrectly reversed its own Enforce and Protect Act determination that an importer evaded antidumping duties on frozen warmwater shrimp from India, a U.S. shrimp industry group said in a complaint filed at the Court of International Trade March 23. The Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Enforcement Committee (AHSTEC), made up of shrimp producers and wholesalers, said CBP should have stuck with its original finding that Minh Phu transshipped Indian shrimp through Vietnam, in part because the exporter did not provide enough information on its supply chain.

Among other things, AHSTEC claims CBP did not publish sufficient public summaries of the redacted information submitted by Minh Phu -- a requirement of any Enforce and Protect Act investigation. On March 22 in a separate case, CBP submitted its first ever revision of an EAPA determination that addressed the issue of deficient public summaries of information included in submissions to CIT. According to a lawyer involved in the case, the lawsuit marks the first court challenge of a negative EAPA determination with no affirmative component.

The reversal follows from an administrative review of the CBP's Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate's final determination by CBP's Office of Regulations and Rulings. On Feb. 11, OR&R determined that the TRLED's use of adverse inferences was inappropriate, finding Minh Phu responded to agency requests “to the best of its ability,” even though it was unable to trace imported shrimp from India through its production process.

The TRLED applied the adverse inferences after finding Minh Phu's responses lacking. It determined that, since Minh Phu could not determine how shrimp imported from India were used in its production process, it would infer that the company is attempting to avoid duties. The TRLED ultimately found that Minh Phu (see 2010140040) was in fact “co-mingling Indian-origin shrimp with Vietnamese-origin shrimp on imports to the United States.”

Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of AHSTEC's complaint or CBP's remand redetermination addressing public summaries.