“US Imposes Unexpectedly High Anti-Dumping Duties on Vietnam’s Key Exports – A Singular Business Benefits from 0% Tariff”

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) announced that the US Department of Commerce (DOC) has released its preliminary results of the 19th administrative review (POR19) regarding the anti-dumping duty order on frozen warm-water shrimp from Vietnam for the period of February 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024.

According to the announcement, DOC determined that Thong Thuan Company (including Thong Thuan Cam Ranh) did not dump its products, with a zero percent dumping margin.

Meanwhile, STAPIMEX Company was assigned a preliminary rate of 35.29%. This rate was also applied to 22 other companies in the separate rate category that were not selected for individual examination, instead of the average rate of the two mandatory respondents, as is the usual practice.

VASEP expressed deep concern and surprise at this sudden spike in the preliminary rate. In the 19 years that Vietnam has participated in the US shrimp anti-dumping duty administrative reviews, no company has ever received a double-digit rate. This situation is reminiscent of what happened during POR12, when DOC also assigned a preliminary rate of 25.76% to FIMEX due to a calculation error, which was later adjusted to 4.58% in the final results. Therefore, VASEP and the companies believe that there has been a similar mistake or miscalculation in the current review.

It is understood that STAPIMEX has prepared meticulously and is confident in its accounting system to achieve the lowest tax rate. However, VASEP and the companies believe that there may have been errors or miscalculations on both sides, leading to distorted data and an unusually high preliminary rate. STAPIMEX will promptly provide additional information, and we are confident that the final results will accurately reflect the reality of Vietnamese companies’ exports to the US market – free from dumping practices.

Although the preliminary results are not immediately effective and may be adjusted in the final results (expected to be announced in December 2025), this information has already negatively impacted the psychology of US importers, affecting purchasing plans and export orders. More worryingly, it also affects the psychology and operations of shrimp farmers in Vietnam.

VASEP believes that, coupled with the US government’s current tax retaliation policy, the abnormally high preliminary rate further exacerbates the challenges faced by the Vietnamese shrimp industry in accessing the US market.

According to VASEP’s statistics, seafood exports reached $851 million in May 2025, up 2.7% from May 2024. The cumulative exports in the first five months of the year totaled $4.2 billion, an increase of 18.2% compared to the same period in 2024.

In terms of product categories, shrimp continued to be a bright spot, with exports reaching $363 million in May, a significant increase of 12.4%, and accounting for over 42% of the total turnover. In the first five months of 2025, shrimp exports exceeded $1.66 billion, up 28.3%, reflecting a clear market recovery trend and strong demand from the US, Japan, and CPTPP countries.

On the other hand, tra fish exports decreased by 17.3% in May, reaching only $138 million, the sharpest decline among the main export groups. Similarly, tuna exports also fell by 23.2% in May, reaching $65 million.