US Commerce sets final countervailing duty on Ecuadorian shrimp
The US Department of Commerce published the final results of an expedited countervailing duty review of frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador on 6 August 2026, determining that the producers and exporters covered by the review received countervailable subsidies during the 2022 period of review (1 January to 31 December 2022). The review followed preliminary results published 10 March 2026, with Commerce extending its final-results deadline on 21 July 2026 before issuing this determination.
Key facts
- The US Department of Commerce published final results of an expedited countervailing duty review on frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador on 6 August 2026, covering the 2022 period of review.
- Commerce published preliminary results in March 2026 and extended the final-results deadline on 21 July 2026 before this final determination confirmed countervailable subsidies.
This is a review of an existing countervailing duty order, not a new investigation: frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador has carried an active US countervailing duty determination since Commerce's original final affirmative determination in October 2024, itself following a preliminary determination in April 2024. An expedited review of this kind reassesses the subsidy rate for a specific period against a specific set of producers/exporters, and the confirmed subsidy finding sets the applicable cash-deposit rate going forward for the reviewed parties.
Ecuador is one of the largest shrimp exporters to the US market, competing directly with India, Vietnam and Indonesia on landed cost. A confirmed CVD rate change on Ecuadorian shrimp shifts the relative cost position across all four origins for any US importer sourcing shrimp competitively — worth re-running landed-cost comparisons rather than assuming Ecuador's prior competitive position holds unchanged.
Why it matters
If you export or import frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador to the US, confirm which specific producer/exporter cash-deposit rate applies to your supply chain under this review before your next shipment — and if you compete with Ecuadorian shrimp from another origin, re-check your landed-cost comparison against the confirmed rate rather than an assumed one.