On May 30th, the Southern Shrimp Alliance joined a number of other U.S. industries in formally requesting that the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) immediately cease the agency’s practice of limiting trade relief against unfairly dumped imports through the grant of offsets.
Over the last two decades, our trading partners have challenged the way in which the United States calculates dumping margins through the dispute settlement process at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Dumping margins are determined by comparing prices for sales of imports in the United States against either the prices those products are sold in foreign markets or the cost of production of the good. The amount used to compare against U.S. prices is called “normal” or “fair” value. Foreign exporters argue that any sale of an imported good above normal/fair value should be used to offset the dumping margin calculated from sales of imports that are below normal/fair value. Despite the fact that this is neither required by U.S. law or by the agreements reached under the WTO, the WTO’s Appellate Body has issued opinions declaring that the United States must grant offsets that reduce dumping margins.
Although the United States has consistently argued that there is no justification for the Appellate Body’s creation of new obligations under the WTO agreements, prior Administrations elected to capitulate and now, except in specific circumstances, Commerce routinely grants offsets in the calculation of dumping margins. This choice has been devastating for the U.S. shrimp industry, resulting in the removal of trade relief against dumped Ecuadorian shrimp imports in August 2007 and in the exclusion of the largest Vietnamese shrimp exporter from antidumping duties in 2016. Even more recently, the U.S. shrimp industry was again denied relief against dumped Ecuadorian shrimp imports due to these offsets.
In its comments to Commerce, the Southern Shrimp Alliance noted that through the issuance of the America First Trade Policy, President Trump had specifically instructed Commerce to review the grant of offsets in antidumping duty proceedings. The organization also observed that the U.S. government has repeatedly cited the Appellate Body’s views on offsets as a clear example of overreach that has resulted in the breakdown of the dispute settlement process at the WTO. Moreover, the Southern Shrimp Alliance emphasized that efforts to conform to the Appellate Body’s demands have resulted in substantial litigation before federal courts, taxing the already limited resources Commerce has available to administer our trade remedy laws. Accordingly, the Southern Shrimp Alliance requested that Commerce immediately reinstate its practice of denying offsets in administrative proceedings related to the antidumping duty laws.
Other U.S. industry groups, producers, and labor unions made similar requests, including the American Shrimp Processors Association, the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (United Steelworkers), Nucor Corporation, the United States Steel Corporation, the U.S. Lumber Coalition, Inc., the Committee on Pipe & Tube Imports, and Steel Dynamics, Inc.
“The America First Trade Policy means that we have to stop letting global bureaucrats dictate our laws,” said John Williams, the executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “For nearly 20 years, American shrimpers have been denied relief against dumped Ecuadorian shrimp because of a WTO demand that every Administration has said lacks justification. The U.S. shrimp industry is confident that, while others were only willing to complain, President Trump will take decisive action to fix this problem.”
Read President Trump’s America First Trade Policy Memorandum (Jan. 20, 2025) here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/america-first-trade-policy/
Read the Southern Shrimp Alliance’s May 30, 2025 comments to the U.S. Department of Commerce here: https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Southern-Shrimp-Alliance-Comments-on-Cohens-d.pdf
Access the full docket of the 18 comments filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding offsets in antidumping duty proceedings here: https://www.regulations.gov/document/ITA-2025-0004-0001/comment