The American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) has said Vietnam should maintain its non-market economy status, and has made overtures to the US Department of Commerce (DOC) to that effect, according to a statement on its website. This is after a review of the country’s NME status was launched by the DOC at the request of the Government of Vietnam.

Of note, the ASPA currently has an antidumping petition pending with the DOC against Vietnam and several other countries claiming they have used unfair trade practices to undercut domestic prices. In this case, as an NME, the true value of shrimp from Vietnam used to determine any anti dumping or countervailing duties would be calculated based on the true value of shrimp from a third country. This is chosen at the discretion of the DOC–usually a comparable economy but not necessarily always.