More than 100 shrimp farmers and hatchery operators submitted an open letter to President George W Bush via the US Embassy in Bangkok yesterday. They are seeking fair trade and protesting anti-dumping measures in which the US Customs Border Protection Agency implements a Continuous Bond - seen as a form of double taxation.

Representatives of shrimp farmers and hatchery operators included Aekapoj Yodpinij, president of the Surat Thani Shrimp Association, Pokkrong Kerdsook, president of the Krabi Shrimp Association, Tawee-sub Chuaychan, president of the Andaman Shrimp Hatcheries, and Aksorn Kajornkarnchanakul, president of the Trang Shrimp Associa-tion, together with some 100 members.

Aekapoj said farmers were concerned that the Continuous Bond - illegal under World Trade Organisation rules if a form of double taxation - would cause the Thai shrimp industry to collapse.

Currently, the shrimp industry is facing great difficulties as a result of the anti-dumping duties levied on shrimp products from Thailand and five other shrimp-producing countries: India, Vietnam, Ecuador, Brazil and China.

Besides these duties, the Customs Border Protection Agency has added a Continuous Bond, which requires that a bond be posted to cover 100 per cent of the duty amount based on the previous year's total shrimp imports. Shrimp industry representatives contend that this measure is unfair, discriminatory and a form of double taxation which is against WTO regulations. It is, they argue, clearly a trade barrier set by the US Customs particularly on agricultural products such as frozen shrimp. The rates for other products are much lower, at about 10 per cent.

In theory, importers are supposed to post the bond, but in practice, exporters are bearing this heavy burden. The Continuous Bond ties up the cash flow of exporters, who do not have sufficient funds to post a high bond for a long period.

Eventually, the Continuous Bond will affect shrimp exporters and processors, causing a shortage of capital to purchase shrimp. Shrimp prices will then be affected and a domino effect will strike the country's shrimp industry and other related sectors.

"I wish to convey that in the recent past we have faced so many crises such as the natural disaster of the tsunami, falling shrimp prices and the anti-dumping order from the US. We'd ask the US not to put more pressure on us with an unfair trade measure. Shrimp farmers and the Thai people want nothing more than fair trade. It is our utmost wish that our great ally and nation would set a good example to other countries by not bullying small helpless countries," Aekapoj said.

Thailand's shrimp exports for January were recorded at 18,619 tonnes with a value of Bt4.85 billion, an increase of 4.81 per cent in volume and 8.31 per cent in value compared to the same period last year. Export volume to the US was 8,923 tonnes, with 3,590 tonnes going to Japan, 1,193 tonnes to the European Union, and 4,913 tonnes to other markets.