Vietnam officials object to proposed US catfish rules

Feb 18, 2010, 8:32 GMT

Hanoi - Vietnamese officials Thursday criticized a proposed US rule change that could result in Vietnamese catfish being temporarily blocked from the US market.

The US has proposed moving inspections of imported catfish from its Food and Drug Administration to its Department of Agriculture (USDA) beginning in 18 months. Because international agreements on food inspections typically take two to five years to negotiate, the switch may mean Vietnamese catfish imports are barred entirely while negotiations proceed.

'This is an unfair proposal,' Vu Van Tam, deputy minister of agriculture and rural development, said.

Tam said Vietnam would give the US an official response to the proposal within the next few days.

Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Nguyen Thanh Bien said the current problem was the latest twist in a catfish saga that has been in the making since 2008.

Bien said Vietnam would 'work out measures' to ensure catfish producers could continue to export, but declined to give further details.

The US change was proposed by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to comply with provisions of the country's 2008 Farm Bill legislation. On Tuesday, the Office of Management and Budget announced a review period for the proposed change would be extended indefinitely.

The proposed change would affect not just Vietnam but China and other catfish exporting countries. US diplomats and members of Congress have expressed concern that the change could trigger a trade war with Vietnam.

Vietnam exported 77 million dollars worth of catfish to the US in 2008, up from 55 million dollars in 2002 despite the imposition of anti-dumping tariffs in 2003. Total Vietnamese catfish exports are expected to rise from 1.1 billion dollars in 2009 to 1.5 billion dollars in 2010, with the top customer being Russia.