Vietnam says new US rule on catfish insspanection disaspanspanointing, unnecessary

The new inspection rule the U.S. is poised to apply over catfish suppliers is disappointing as it will seriously hurt Vietnam’s exports of the seafood, Le Hai Binh, spokesman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Monday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week issued a new rule for catfish suppliers, which requires on-site inspections of farms and processing plants for both domestic and foreign producers to ensure they meet the same standards.

The rule is expected to become effective from March 2016, and will be phased in over 18 months, giving foreign suppliers, mostly from Vietnam, time to make changes needed to comply with the USDA"s requirements, according to Reuters.

During the 18-month transition period, foreign suppliers wishing to export catfish to the U.S. will be subject to at least quarterly inspections and residue sampling by the USDA"s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Asked about Vietnam’s reaction to the USDA move during a press meeting in Hanoi, Binh expressed disappointment about the new rule, which he deemed unnecessary, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Vietnamese catfish businesses always follow market mechanisms, food hygiene and safety regulations for their shipment to the U.S. market, where seafood is among Vietnam’s major money makers, according to the spokesperson.

The new rule is thus unnecessary and will become a non-tariff barrier, seriously affecting Vietnam’s catfish exports, the lives of Vietnamese farmers, and the interests of U.S. consumers, he underlined.

Many Vietnamese producers and trade negotiators had expressed concerns that catfish imports to the U.S. would be effectively banned until producers could meet the new USDA requirements, causing major disruptions to a significant export sector, according to Reuters.

The catfish inspection program is also deemed wasteful and redundant by some U.S. lawmakers, who have repeatedly objected to the rule, the British news agency said in a November 26 report.

These lawmakers see the rule as a trade barrier aimed at protecting a small industry mainly located in Mississippi, where U.S. catfish farmers have been battered by fast-growing imports of the Vietnamese products in recent years.

"As a result of this protectionist program, an estimated $15 million per year will be spent on enabling government bureaucrats to impose barriers on foreign catfish importers, which will in turn increase the price of catfish for American consumers, restaurants, and seafood processors," Reuters said, citing a statement by Republican Senator John McCain.

The Vietnamese spokesman also mentioned such objections by the U.S officials in his speech to reporters during the Monday meeting, and added that other ASEAN member nations are also concerned the new inspection rule will impact their exports.

Vietnam will continue working with the USAD and closely follow the implementation of the program to protect its legitimate interests, he said.

Vietnamese catfish are now the sixth most popular seafood in the United States, according to Reuters.

U.S. producers had complained that the current catfish inspection program fails to halt imports containing banned antibiotics and other chemicals, and therefore persuaded lawmakers to pass legislation authorizing the new program, first in 2008 and again in 2014.

"The point of this process has been to ensure that farm-raised catfish served to American families is safe and nutritious," Reuters quoted Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, a major proponent of the program, as saying.

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Vietnam says new US rule on catfish insspanection disaspanspanointing, unnecessary

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