WTO rules against U.S. shrimp bonds

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 2 (UPI) -- The World Trade Organization has ruled the United States cannot demand a cash bond from Thai shrimp and Indian exporters.

The Bangkok Star reported Sunday that the U.S. government had demanded the bonds amid concern that the shrimp exporters were dumping the shellfish to inflate prices artificially.

The international trade court ruled that the customs bonds violated WTO anti-dumping rules and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, known as GATT.

The three-judge panel ruled the U.S. request for an enhanced continuous bond requirement, or EBR, was unwarranted.

"We uphold Thailand's claims that the application of the EBR to subject shrimp from Thailand is inconsistent," the judges said. "We reject the United States' argument that the application of the EBR is justified."

The United States for almost two years collected a minimum bond equivalent to 10 percent of the import duties from other countries' exporters, multiplied by the value of imports of shrimp in the preceding year, the newspaper reported.