The U.S. firm Akin Gump was hired by the Ecuadorian government to address the legal defence of the countervailing duty demand filed by the Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries (Cogsi) against the shrimp industry in Ecuador and five other countries.
The group asked the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission of the United States to investigate the alleged existence of subsidies in Ecuador that would reduce the sales prices of shrimp entering U.S. territory.
The lawsuit also involves China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.
Akim Gump is the same law firm that was hired eight years ago to defend Ecuador, which was charged with dumping by the U.S., newspaper El Universo reported.
Jose Camposano, chief executive of National Aquaculture Chamber (CNA), explained that it was decided to contact that firm due to the experience it had in dumping demands and the favourable results obtained.
A few days ago, a meeting was held between the authorities of the Vice Ministry of Aquaculture and the CNA to gather information regarding the demand.
So far, Cogsi denounced nine practices that supposedly benefit the Ecuadorian shrimp industry to lower the price of its production, such as tax exemptions provided for in the Production Code.
Camposano and other Ecuadorian officials expect that on 11 February the first decision of the International Trade Commission, entity that must rule on the dispute, will be known.
Regarding the dumping complaint filed a few years ago, Ecuador was sanctioned in 2003 with a provisional duty of 7.3 per cent on its shrimp exports, which then went to 3.58 per cent, Diario Hoy informed.
Only in 2007, the DOC revoked such duties complying with an order from the World Trade Organization (WTO), body to which the country took its lawsuit.
At that time, the WTO ruled in favour of Ecuador on the grounds that the unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S. violated international trade rules.
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