On Monday, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued the public version of an opinion issued by Senior Judge Thomas J. Aquilino, Jr. in Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee v. United States, Consol. Court No. 23-00202. In the decision, Judge Aquilino upheld the final results of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (Commerce) seventeenth (17th) administrative review of the antidumping duty order on frozen warmwater shrimp from India, covering imports entered into the United States between February 1, 2021 and January 31, 2022.
In September 2023, Commerce published the final results of the 17th administrative review finding that the Indian shrimp exporter Megaa Moda Pvt Ltd had been dumping shrimp in the United States at a rate of 7.92 percent. Both Megaa Moda and the Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee (AHSTAC) appealed Commerce’s calculation of a dumping margin to the CIT and these separate lawsuits were eventually consolidated into a single case. The American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) entered the appeal as intervenors.
In August 2024, in response to joint arguments presented by AHSTAC and ASPA, Judge Aquilino issued an opinion remanding the final results to Commerce to further consider legal criticisms made by the domestic industry regarding the agency’s calculation of Megaa Moda’s dumping margin. At the same time, Judge Aquilino rejected the claims made by Megaa Moda.
After further consideration of the domestic industry’s arguments, Commerce obtained additional record support for its determination and provided further explanation as to the basis for the agency’s holding. Nevertheless, AHSTAC and ASPA jointly challenged Commerce’s remand redetermination as continuing to fall short of the agency’s legal obligations.
In the decision issued this week, Judge Aquilino found that Commerce acted reasonably in calculating Megaa Moda’s dumping margin. While Judge Aquilino’s opinion recognized that the domestic industry had identified valid concerns arising from the administrative record, he found that Commerce had appropriately considered the arguments made by the domestic industry and sufficiently explained why the agency disagreed with the domestic shrimp industry’s conclusions.
Parties have the option of appealing the CIT’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. If no further appeal is pursued, an antidumping duty of 7.92 percent will be assessed on shrimp imported from Megaa Moda that entered the United States during the review period (2/1/2021 to 1/31/2022). This is the fourth highest antidumping duty rate ever applied to an Indian shrimp exporter over the course of eighteen completed administrative reviews of the trade relief.
Review the public version of Slip Opinion 25-85 (July 8, 2025), Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee v. United States, Consol. Court No. 23-00202, here: https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Slip-Op-25-85.pdf
Review the public version of Slip Opinion 24-93 (Aug. 15, 2024), Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee v. United States, Consol. Court No. 23-00202, here: https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Slip-Op-24-93.pdf