US slashes anti-dumping tax on Vietnamese shrimp   Workers process shrimp at a factory of Minh Phu Seafood Corp. in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Photo: Bloomberg The US Department of Commerce has cut anti-dumping tariffs on Vietnamese shrimp by up to 86 percent, giving rise to hope that shrimp exports to that country will increase in the remaining months of this year. The cut follows a periodic review of the tariffs imposed on frozen shrimp from Vietnam, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said on its website Thursday. Now 32 companies will be subject to a tax rate of only 0.91 percent, down from 6.37 percent earlier. Fimex VN will enjoy a zero tax rate, Minh Phu Seafood Corp. will be subject to 1.39 percent and Thuan Phuoc Corp to 1.16 percent. The US is the largest buyer of Vietnamese shrimp, with shipments last year being worth more than US$1 billion. But in the first eight months of this year exports slumped to a mere $370 million, a 50-percent year-on-year drop, after the US slapped the highest-ever anti-dumping tax of 6.37 percent. “Now, with the sharp cut in tax, Vietnamese shrimp exports to the US are expected to improve in the final months of this year,” VASEP said. Thanh Nien News