Vietnam says U.S. anti-dumping tax on shrimp unfair

Vietnam on Saturday said the United States' imposition of anti-dumping taxes on imported shrimps from Vietnam is unfair.

The imposition goes against the spirit of free trade and fine- developed economic relations, and is inconsistent with the comprehensive partnership between the two countries, Le Hai Binh, Vietnamese spokesperson of foreign ministry said on Saturday.

"We affirm that Vietnamese companies do not dump their shrimp products on the U.S. market, cause no harm and no threat to the U. S. shrimp industry," Binh said in response to reporters' inquiry over U.S. Department of Commerce's recent imposition of anti- dumping tax on 32 Vietnamese shrimp exporters to the country.

Specifically, 30 Vietnamese shrimp exporters will see an average anti-dumping tax of 6.37 percent, while the rest two companies will be imposed with highest tax rates of 4.98 percent and 9.75 percent.

"Commercial activities between the two countries should be considered objectively, fairly in order to protect legitimate interests of Vietnamese shrimp growers, producers, processors and exporters as well as the interests of American consumers, importers and distributors," Binh said.

According to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, in the first eight months of 2014, the country's shrimp export revenue reached 2.56 billion U.S. dollars, up 48.3 percent year-on-year.

As of mid-August, the United States remained largest market for Vietnamese shrimp with some 694.5 million U.S. dollars worth of shrimp products imported from Vietnam, up 80.3 percent year-on- year.