EAPA Case 7356: MSeafood Corporation (Notice of Determination as to Evasion, October 13, 2020)

EAPA Action: Determination as to Evasion - Frozen Warmwater Shrimp

CBP Issues Determination as to Evasion in Enforce and Protect Act Investigation

WASHINGTON—On October 13, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued its determination as to evasion against MSeafood Corporation (MSeafood) in its Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) investigation into the evasion of an antidumping duty order for frozen warmwater shrimp from India. CBP found that substantial evidence that MSeafood evaded antidumping duty order A-533-840 by transshipping shrimp through Vietnam, not reporting the entries as subject to antidumping and countervailing duty orders, and failing to pay cash deposits. As a result, MSeafood evaded a significant amount of antidumping duties owed to the U.S. Government.

In light of CBP’s determination that MSeafood entered covered merchandise into the customs territory of the United States through evasion, and pursuant to its authorities under EAPA, CBP will continue to:

• Suspend liquidation of unliquidated entries already suspended under this investigation,
• Rate adjust and change to Entry Type 03 entries subject to this investigation and suspend liquidation,
• Reject any entry summaries and require a re-file for those entries that are within the entry summary reject period,
• Require “live” entry for all imports of shrimp meeting the evasion criteria, requiring the importer to submit proper documentation and all duties prior to release of the merchandise; and
• Require single transaction bonds, as appropriate, and evaluate the sufficiency of the importer’s continuous bonds.

These actions do not preclude CBP from taking additional enforcement measures as it determines appropriate under its EAPA or other legal authorities, which include pursuing civil penalties or investigations into criminal violations.

For additional information on CBP and EAPA, please visit EAPA Trade Enforcement page. If you suspect an importer of duty evasion, CBP encourages you to submit an allegation through our online portal.

Follow CBP Office of Trade on Twitter @CBPTradeGov.