VASEP decries tariffs on tra catfish

The anti-dumping tariffs imposed on tra catfish exported from Viet Nam to the American market from August 2008 to July 2009 were not reasonable, said the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) vice chairman, Nguyen Huu Dung.

In accordance with the US Department of Commerce (DOC)’s preliminary decision, Vietnamese businesses paid US$4.22 per kilo in taxes, while tra catfish’s market price in the US was lower than the Vietnamese product’s after-tax prices.

The domestic firms incurred huge losses due to high anti-dumping tariffs, Dung said. He said that the association was now co-ordinating with relevant agencies and businesses to ask the DOC to reconsider its anti-dumping taxes on tra fish imported from Viet Nam.

The DOC makes an annual decision on whether to increase or reduce anti-dumping taxes on Vietnamese commodities. Anti-dumping tariffs, which were between 0.1 and 0.52 per cent, had been imposed on Viet Nam’s tra fish in the past, which helped to facilitate the flow of tra fish into the American market.

The US National Fisheries Institute (NFI) said there was untapped opportunities in the US market for Vietnamese seafood exporters because catfish was listed in the top 10 of the most consumed seafood products in the US in 2009.

Several Vietnamese fish farms have received Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) certifications, which has created a foundation for Vietnamese seafood exporters to expand their outlets. The statement was made by an NFI representative during a meeting with the representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in HCM City late last week. — VNS

Tags: tariffs on tra catfish, VASEP, Vietnam Seafood, Vietnam seafood exports