After 15 years, catfish exports to the US back to the catfish

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will monitor catfish, catfish with a uniform name as catfish.
Accordingly, until the decision comes into effect, Vietnamese pangasius exports to the US are still subject to inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA); As of September 1, the USDA will replace the work of the FDA, inspecting all stages of the production chain in Vietnam, from incubation to final packaging.

Earlier, Vasep also posted information showing that, in the hearing on 7/12/2016 at the US House of Representatives Trade and Energy Commission, from the comments made, the Congressional decision on The transfer of catfish catfish inspection responsibility from the FDA to the USDA has been strongly criticized for its waste of resources and resources.

US seafood importers and processors say they are complying with FDA regulations for other seafood products, and now they have to adjust the USDA processing facility to the surface. Tra fish will cause serious damage to the company.

Importers also say that Canada, which is nearly the same as the United States, takes 6-7 years to reach the USDA standard for imported meat. This raises the question of how long it will take Vietnam to do this?

However, according to SeafoodSourse, 90% of Tra fish sold in the US is imported from Vietnam. Enhanced testing can be considered as a sensible way, but it must be emphasized that Vietnam’s pangasius has been successfully sold in the United States for the past 10 to 15 years and there have been no pangasius cases. harm to US consumers.

In addition, Vietnam’s pangasius industry is probably the most regulated seafood industry in the world. Farms are certified by independent and reputable organizations such as ASC, BAP and Global GAP … while Vietnamese pangasius processing plants meet HACCP standards as well as IFS certification and BRC. Almost all have been approved to export pangasius to the EU, the market has very strict import criteria.

Catfish is the common name of all catfish. However, in 2002, the US asked the Vietnamese side not to use the catfish name on the package when it was exported to this market. At that time, when Vietnam exported more pangasius to the US under the catfish name, there was a debate in the Vietnam and US press. Then, forced Vietnamese businesses when selling pangasius to the market in this country must be renamed pangasius pish, basa fish is called pangasius basa.

At the time of the year 2000, the campaign against importing Vietnamese tra and basa catfish into the US market was so harsh that some Americans called it “catfish war”.

The loudest of the catfish war of the moment was the American Catfish Farmers Association (CFA). CFA represents rich fish farmers in Mississippi and some southern states. Catfish farmers have put the catfish into a widely sold food on the US market, ranking fifth among the fish species consumed the most. Therefore, they are angry when the imported catfish products are better quality, cheaper price, are entering the US market.

However, instead of promoting domestic catfish as a “premium” species of high value, US catfish farmers (CFA) have launched a long and fierce battle aimed at smear bad catfish Vietnam. This action includes information that tra catfish are raised in the Mekong River, contaminated with Agent Orange. However, the fact that pangasius is now cultured in specialized ponds and fed with pellets.

After CFA persuaded Congress to pass a law that would restrict the use of the term “catfish” that failed to reduce the wave of imports of fish, US catfish farmers decided to launch an anti-catfish lawsuit. Dumping.

Their lawsuit alleges that companies in Vietnam, whose per capita income is only about a fifth of the US, are subsidizing the wealthy in the US using catfish. CFA has accused the Vietnamese Government of interfering too much with the economy so it is impossible to really assess the cost of Vietnamese producers.

Through representatives of Congress, catfish farmers in the southern states have asked the US Department of Commerce to calculate Indian catfish costs, fillets and freezers at fictitious plants. , and transported them in supposed ships to the United States. This assessment leads to the conclusion that Vietnamese producers are unfairly subsidized and have to pay a 190% tax rate.

Anti-dumping tariffs have so far remained, but the rates vary between manufacturers. According to the latest review, mandatory responders (three enterprises) were subject to a national tax rate of $ 2.39 per kilogram due to a decision not to participate in the review. Voluntary respondent enterprises (4 enterprises) received a separate rate of 0.69 USD / kg t