Socialist Republic of Vietnam

HA NOI — The Vietnamese authorities and catfish industry on Wednesday denounced the US Department of Commerce’s final verdict that Vietnamese producers and exporters have dumped fillets in the US.

Deputy Trade Minister Luong Van Tu stated that the DoC’s Tuesday decision was unfair at a time when the US-Viet Nam Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) has only lasted for one year.

"The decision clearly went against the trade liberalising spirit set out by the BTA," Tu said.

"The Ministry of Trade will continue to explain and prove to the US International Trade Commission that their preliminary determination that Vietnamese fish fillets seriously damaged the domestic industry is inaccurate since the Vietnamese fish only accounts for a minor share of the American market."

He was echoed by Deputy Minister of Fisheries, Nguyen Thi Hong Minh, who said the decision would disappoint businesses of both countries while hurting the Vietnamese catfish industry.

Viet Nam’s catfish farmers’ association, VASEP, said in a statement, "the department’s (DoC) unjust decision, which will impose anti-dumping tariffs of 36.84 per cent to 63.88 per cent, will hamstring fish fillet exports from Viet Nam, and hurt the lives of tens of thousands of farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

"VASEP has always reiterated that Vietnamese catfish exporters and producers don’t dump fish fillets in the US," the statement said further.

"We believe that if the realities relating to case were considered publicly and fairly, Vietnamese exporters would have won the case," it lamented.

"Viet Nam’s success in the US market was never the result of dumping. On the contrary, its businesses have been providing high quality and nutritious products at affordable prices that American consumers desire."

VASEP vice chairman Nguyen Van Kich said the decision will only decrease Viet Nam’s trust while doing business with the US.

"The US claims to have a fair legal system, but they impose their will on others," he said.

Nguyen Dinh Huan, deputy director of Agifish, one of Viet Nam’s biggest catfish exporters, said: "This is an unjust ruling, we strongly protest it."

Agifish expects to face more difficulties ahead but they "will not die," he said.

The DoC on Tuesday ruled that Vietnamese catfish producers and exporters have made sales to the US customers "at less than fair value," with margins ranging from 36.84 to 63.88 per cent.

VASEP’s lawyer at US-based White and Case Company, Le Cong Dinh, said the DoC’s conclusion was a groundless one which clearly reflected the US’ protectionism.

Dinh said DoC had rejected VASEP’s recommendations on a dumping margin calculation method where the product should be a result of an entire production process. But the DoC only took into account the processing a whole fish into fillets.

Dinh said the verdict was a shock to the Viet Nam delegation to Tuesday’s hearing before the US International Trade Commission (USITC), especially the seafood exporters who have been doing business with American companies.

The USITC is scheduled to make its final injury determination on July 31.

If the quasi-judicial USITC makes a final affirmative determination, the DoC will issue an anti-dumping tariffs order of up to 64 per cent effective from August 7.

The final DoC ruling imposed tariffs of 36.84 per cent to 52.9 per cent on Viet Nam’s four largest catfish exporters that were required to respond to DoC’s inquiry, namely Agifish, Cataco, Nam Viet, and Vinh Hoan.

Seven other companies, that responded voluntarily, were slapped with a rate of 44.66 per cent, based on the weighted-average margin of the mandatory respondents. Others must pay tariffs of 63.88 per cent.

US catfish farmers, represented by the Catfish Farmers of America, filed a lawsuit last June that Vietnamese exporters were dumping fish in the US market.

The lawsuit was the first hiccup in the two countries’ trade relations after they signed a bilateral trade agreement in 2001.

The Vietnamese catfish industry argued they could sell their produce at lower prices because of cheaper labour and feed costs. — VNS