FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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January 9, 2004 |
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Jones Calls On Administration To Restore Fair Trade For North Carolina Shrimpers
“There is strong evidence that job losses in the North Carolina shrimp industry are directly related to illegal dumping by China, Vietnam, and other countries.”
Washington, D.C.- Third District Representative Walter B. Jones today joined 8 members of Congress in signing a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Don Evans urging action to end unfair trade practices against U.S. shrimpers. The letter expresses support for a petition filed by the Southern Shrimp Alliance – a coalition of U.S. shrimpers and processors. The petition asks the U.S. Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission (ITC) to investigate credible evidence that foreign countries are illegally dumping massive amounts of shrimp on the U.S. market at below cost, thereby causing significant job losses and injury in the domestic shrimp industry. It also calls on the Commerce Department and the ITC to restore fair trade by imposing antidumping duties on shrimp imported from the offending countries including China, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Ecuador and Brazil.
The text of the letter appears below.
Dear Secretary Evans:
As members of Congress, we are writing to express our strong support for the recent antidumping petitions filed against dumped shrimp imports that are causing severe injury to the U.S. shrimp industry, including shrimp harvesters and processors in our states.
It is vital that this industry be afforded every opportunity consistent with law to receive a full and complete examination of its legal and factual case. We are aware that opposing interests would have the Department prevent such a full examination but we urge the Department to resist adopting overly narrow or restrictive views of its discretion or the law to the detriment of this important economic sector.
We also ask that the Department give serious consideration to the domestic industry’s request to simultaneously self-initiate countervailing duty investigations of certain countries based on evidence developed by the domestic industry of actionable domestic and export subsidies benefiting certain foreign shrimp. The law makes clear that an investigation “shall be initiated whenever {the Department} determines, from the information available to it, that a formal investigation is warranted into the question of whether the elements necessary for the imposition of a duty . . . exist.” 19 USC § 1673a(a). Congressional intent plainly favors self-initiation in circumstances such as these, where, we understand, there is ample evidence of actionable subsidies benefiting shrimp in certain foreign countries.
Thank you very much for your consideration in this matter.