Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Le Hai Binh
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“Vietnam has repeatedly expressed its concern over the USDA’s catfish inspection programme which is costly and unnecessary, and would become a non-tariff trade barrier, violating regulations set by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the spirit of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement,” he said.
Viet Nam called on the US House of Representatives and Administration to take further steps to fully remove this program, he said, adding that Viet Nam always strives to cooperate with other countries, including the US to ensure safety and quality of catfish exports which have already met international quality and safety standards.
Earlier on May 25, the US Senate approved the Joint Resolution 28 (S.J. Res 28) in favor of repealing the Department of Agriculture’s catfish inspection program. Binh described the US Senate’s approval as a sound step contributing to showing the US’s commitments to bilateral and multilateral trade mechanisms with Vietnam, he said.
It also conforms with new developments of the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership which has been reflected through the recent visit to Vietnam by President Barack Obama, he added. Vietnam appealed to the US Senate and authorities to soon make the next steps in completely lifting the programme, the spokesman said.
Vietnam highly appreciated the US Senate’s vote to end catfish inspection
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The US Senate’s vote took place on May 25, with bill supporters, including Republican Sen. John McCain, arguing that the USDA programme is wasteful, duplicative and unnecessary. Supporters said the programme violated commitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and would result in a lawsuit that will cost US agricultural exporters.
They criticised its intention to protect US catfish producers by raising barriers for catfish imports from Vietnam and other nations. The resolution still needs the House of Representatives’ approval and President Barack Obama’s signature to take effect.
Catfish is a popular fish in the US, with the market dominated by local producers mostly from southern states such as Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Alabama. In recent years, they have been rivaled by cheaper Asian imports.
This is the right move which contributes to reflecting the US commitment to the bilateral and multilateral trade mechanisms and is in accordance with the new developments of the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries, Binh commented.
