By Alabama Public Radio
Washington, DC – The federal Commerce Department Tuesday upheld the penalty tariffs placed on shrimp imports from China and Vietnam. The action followed last summer's preliminary ruling from the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration. Border agents have been collecting the penalty tariffs since July. A government investigation determined shrimp imported from China and Vietnam was being sold in the U-S market at very low prices. That's called dumping, and it's illegal. The Southern Shrimp Alliance requested the penalties, but critics say the tariffs will drive up shrimp prices.