Socialist Republic of Vietnam

HA NOI – Criticism has renewed of the US trade commission decision to slap protective tariffs against Vietnamese catfish following last week’s compensation package for American catfish farmers for losses from natural disasters.

Pointing out that the US$34 million relief by the US Government from natural disasters clearly meant it was not Vietnamese catfish which caused the losses, influential voices have sought the overturning of the US International Trade Commission (ITC) verdict.

The commission was due to issue its final opinion yesterday.

Senator Edward Kennedy, in a letter to ITC chairwoman Deanna Tanner Okun, said "if the domestic catfish industry is going to accept the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) assistance, then it must also accept USDA’s conclusions about the cause of the industry’s financial hardships."

"It would also seem that this Basa anti-dumping order should be negated."

He also argued that since a new US law defined "catfish" as a particular species – ictaluridae – it was "incongruous to enforce a dumping restriction against Vietnamese catfish, when the product in question is of a different taxonomic family altogether (pangasius)."

Kennedy urged the commission to "initiate a ‘change in circumstances’ review or re-vote its decision altogether."

Andrew Forman, president of Massachusetts State catfish importer Infinity Seafoods, in a letter to the Vietnamese trade office in the US, accused the American catfish farmers of "intentionally withholding this information [about losses from natural disasters] to further line the pockets of their members."

He too sought a reversal of the ITC verdict, believing "strongly that their previous actions and the actions of the Department of Commerce have been made in error."

Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has accused US catfish farmers of falsely claiming injury by Vietnamese basa and tra fish following the USDA announcement of relief from losses caused by "adverse weather and natural disasters."

VASEP general secretary Nguyen Huu Dung said: "The grant shows that the Catfish Farmers of America has been two-faced to gain double."

"When filing the suit with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission, it deliberately distorted the truth, presenting false evidence to accuse Vietnamese exporters of dumping and damaging US catfish industry."

"The US farmers also proved to the USDA that the damage was caused by disaster to gain relief from the US Government," he said.

"This reveals the inconsistency between US Government agencies and the heavy subsidies they grant for domestic production which runs counter to their claims of trade liberalisation and fair competition."— VNS