BEAUMONT, Texas — The American Shrimp Processors Association is asking the U.S. Department of Commerce to consider labor practices in India as part of its investigation into potentially unfair trade practices in imported shrimp.
On Friday the group filed an "allegation" with the U.S. government alleging that India not enforcing labor laws actually provides a subsidy to Indian shrimpers according to a news release from the ASPA.
The group is asking that the Department of Commerce consider India's alleged subsidy in the department's current "countervailing duty investigation" which is meant to address unfair trade practices.
An investigation was launched after the ASPA in October 2023 circulated a petition on what they call "unfairly traded shrimp imports," according to the news release.
The group has been fighting to stop what they call shrimp dumping which is affecting the livelihood of U.S. shrimpers.
“These producers exploit the most vulnerable workers imaginable, and then export their artificially low-priced product to the United States, harming our own domestic shrimp harvesters and processors," the release quoted ASPA president Trey Pearson as saying.
According to the ASPA, 650 million pounds of Indian shrimp worth $2.3 billion was imported in 2023 and accounted for 40% of U.S. shrimp imports.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.