The livelihood of thousands of fishermen and workers are at risk, Industry and Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said in a letter to US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick. — VNA/VNS
HANOI: Vietnam has urged the United States to reconsider a ruling that effectively bans certain seafood exports, warning it may disrupt bilateral trade and cost the South-East Asian nation’s seafood industry US$500mil in annual losses.
The livelihood of thousands of fishermen and workers are at risk, Industry and Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said in a letter to US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, according to a post on the government website.
It will also impact US importers and consumers, Dien said.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, known as NOAA, in August said 12 Vietnamese fisheries failed to comply with requirements under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
This means that from Jan 1, those fisheries can no longer export to the United States.
The move could amount to a US$500mil hit to the seafood industry, and would severely impact exporters of tuna, swordfish, grouper, mackerel and crab, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.
“The decision will negatively affect the entire seafood supply chain, undermine the reputation of Vietnamese seafood in global markets, and harm the country’s image in marine conservation and sustainable environmental development,” the association said in a letter to its members.
The dispute took place as discussions continue on the wider trade deal announced by US President Donald Trump in July that sets a 20% tariff on exports to the United States and a 40% levy on goods deemed to be transshipped.
The new levy came into force last month, but businesses have been left to navigate their own arrangements as they wait to see how the new rates would be established and implemented.
The American administration cleared 11 other Vietnamese fisheries and highlighted that the South-East Asian nation “prohibits the intentional killing of marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing operations.”
Still, the agency said in its comparability report that “not all vessel size classes are monitored and not all are required to report marine mammal bycatch.”
Dien also called for a fair outcome for Vietnamese shrimp exporters in the ongoing administrative review of anti-dumping tax on US imports from Vietnam. —Bloomberg
