Firm Admits To Avoiding Tariff On Imported Shrimp

US - A Placentia firm and one of its executives admitted illegally avoiding a tariff on imported shrimp by claiming the bottom-dwelling delicacies were caught in U.S. waters.

Tony Zavala, vice president of sales for Pacific Shrimp Co. Inc., and the company admitted buying frozen shrimp from other countries and creating phony documents indicating the shrimp was harvested in the United States.

The shrimp was sold in Mexico. The phony documents claimed the shrimp had been inspected in the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Mexico normally imposes a 20 percent tariff on imported seafood, prosecutors said. But, under the North American Free Trade Agreement, seafood grown or harvested in the United States can be imported duty-free.

Source: CBS2