US: CBP agrees to disperse anti-dumping duties to crawfish industry

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) recently brokered a meeting between leaders of the Louisiana crawfish industry and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to resolve uncollected anti-dumping and countervailing duties owed to the industry.

A federal appeals court ruled in March that the Great American Insurance Company and Washington International Insurance Company jointly owed the government $6.5 million in anti-dumping and countervailing duty bonds.

Representatives of the crawfish industry argued that a portion of those funds should be paid back into the industry under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act.

“Louisiana’s crawfish industry is not only an important job creator, it’s a vital part of our cultural heritage,” Boustany said. “United States Customs and Border Protection has been hurting this vital industry by withholding duties that are rightfully owed to our crawfish processors. I have continually called on this agency to do right by the Louisiana crawfish industry and make the necessary payments to our processors.”

In March, Boustany sent a letter to CBP requesting a response to its collection of anti-dumping duties on imported crawfish. The CBP responded that it is committed to ensuring that anti-dumping laws are upheld, but said it couldn’t provide a timetable for collection of the anti-dumping and countervailing bonds.

As a result of the meeting Boustany brokered between the crawfish industry and CBP in October, the CBP agreed to formulate a plan to disperse the $6.5 million to the crawfish industry within weeks.

“I’m encouraged we have finally convinced this agency to abide by their statutory obligation,” Boustany said. “However, given past history, I will not be satisfied until I am sure this agency has followed through on its promise. I will continue to monitor this situation closely, and I won’t stop fighting for our Louisiana crawfish industry.”

Source: Ripon Advance