Pangasius export face high tariff risks

The highest rate of antidumping tax on pangasius, commonly known as tra fish, may range from 100 % to 130 %, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) said at the sixth administrative review applied to certain frozen pangasius fillets of Vietnam exported to the US. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) and its member companies have expressed their indignation and concern over the DOC’s unilateral decision.

Tariff is too high

In the fifth antidumping review by DOC, Vietnamese exporters were not imposed high tariff. Only three companies were subjected 0.52 % taxes and others, with recognition of not dumping the fish on the US market, enjoyed zero tax.

However, at this review, the results are contrary. DOC is accused of unjustified change in the surrogate country used to value raw material inputs, suddenly switching from Bangladesh to the Philippines after consistently rejecting the Philippines in all prior administrative reviews due to the poor quality of the pricing data, the lack of publicly available data, the extremely small size of the Philippines catfish industry, and the evident fact that Philippines is not farming Pangasius hypophthalmus and has no exports of products of this fish species to any countries, VASEP said. DOC raised the antidumping tax on Vietnam’s tra fillets to a record high of 130 % and imposed the decision on many Vietnamese exporters. The antidumping tariffs on Vietnamese tra fish could reach US$4.22 per kilo, equalling 130 % of the selling price of the Vietnamese tra fish in the US market.

The growing number of Vietnamese tra fish exporters to the US market is cited as a reason for the imposition of the antidumping tax. Currently, 12 Vietnamese tra catfish exporters are enjoying special tax, a rise of 3-4 times from a few years ago. Shipments to the US also increased 2.5 times from last year.

Against international practices

Mr Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of VASEP, said: “We absolutely oppose the (preliminary) decision made by the DOC in its last review of its tariffs. This is very unfair tariff and against international practices, which affect Vietnamese tra fish exporters into the US in the future. The DOC should review the matter completely and fairly, not only for Vietnamese companies but also for American consumers.”

Mr Hoe pointed out that higher tax will lead to higher prices of the fish in the US market in the coming time and the competitiveness of Vietnamese catfish against other aquatic products will weaken.

Mr Luong Le Phuong, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the Vietnamese Government would take action to prevent the imposition of the new antidumping tariffs, which would affect tra fish exports to other markets around the world.

Associate Professor and Doctor Nguyen Huu Dung, Vice Chairman of VASEP, said: The comparison of tra fish product prices in the Philippines. Choosing the Philippines will raise difficulties for Vietnamese companies.

Sharing this viewpoint, Mr Hoe explained that compared with Bangladesh, feeding material prices in the Philippines increased 2.5 times, labour costs climbed by 2 times and administrative expenses were 40 % higher. Moreover, Bangladeshi production is 10 times larger than that of the Philippines and most tra catfish in the Philippines are for domestic use.

Another difficulty against Vietnamese exporters is they have to deposit an amount of cash equivalent to the tax amount DOC imposes on imported batches from March 2011. “This is a handsome sun of money and exporters can hardly meet,” Dung said.

The DOC’s final conclusion will be made in at least six months and Vietnamese companies thus have three months to appeal against this decision like present necessary evidence to prove that Vietnamese tra fish is not dumped in the US.

Tags: Vietnam Pangasius exports