According to VASEP.COM.VN
Beginning July 1, 2021, frozen, shell-on, farm-raised uncooked frozen warm-water shrimp will be imported into the United States under the new Harmonized Tariff (HTS) tariff code 0306.17,0004, 0306.17 .0005, 0306.17.07, 0306.17,0008, 0306.17.0010, 0306.17.0011, 0306.17.0013, 0306.17.0014, 0306.17.0016.
This code is separate from the codes to distinguish wild caught, frozen warm water shrimp with shell on (0306.17.0017, 0306.17.0019, 0306.17.0020, 0306.17.0022, 0306.17.0023, 0306.17.0025, 0306.17.0026, 0306.17. 0028, 0306.17.0029).
In addition, under the amendments, imports of frozen, uncooked shelled and farmed warm water shrimp have the code 0306.17.0041 to distinguish them from the frozen, uncooked shelled wild-caught warmwater shrimp 0306.17.0042 .
Why is the SSA, a group representing domestic American shrimp producers, asking for such a technical change and why is it important?
Nathan Rickard, partner of Picard Kentz & Rowe in Washington, DC, representing the SSA, said that the importers tried to misrepresent the shrimp they purchased with the intention of “circling” the regulations.
“Example: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration administers import warnings about banned antibiotics in shrimp specifically for aquaculture products only (Import Alerts 16-131; Warnings 16-131; WARNINGS ONLY). import notice 16-124; [và] Import Alert 16-136),” he wrote in an email, “Importers can avoid these import warnings by identifying their shrimp as wild-caught.
In addition, the U.S. State Department’s Section 609 Program prohibits the import of wild-caught shrimp unless the fishing country is certified by the agency, but importers can circumvent this requirement by identifying characterize their shrimp as farmed, explains Rickard.
Likewise, the National Marine Fisheries Agency upholds provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act that target wild-caught shrimp.
Furthermore, prior to the implementation of the improvements to the HTS code, a relative volume of wild-caught shrimp imports was not traceable and monitored as with farmed shrimp, the SSA said. The ITC previously estimated that 88% of shrimp import value in 2019 could be from farmed shrimp.
These changes will make the application of the imported shrimp HTS code the same as for other wild-caught and farmed seafood, such as farmed salmon, Atlantic salmon, Chinook (king), Coho salmon. (silver), oysters and mussels, the SSA said in its press release. In addition, it will ease the burden on the US Department of Agriculture in overseeing provenance labeling regulations and the NMFS Seafood Import Monitoring Program.
The following table is the complete list of amendments related to the customs code of shrimp imported into the US:
