US cuts anti-dumping taxes on Vietnamese catfish products

HÀ NỘI — The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has lowered anti-dumping duties on tra fish (pangasius) products from Việt Nam following the official conclusion of its 15th period of review (POR15) from August 1, 2017 to July 31, 2018, according to the Trade Remedies Authorities of Vietnam under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoIT).

Processing tra fish for export at Sao Mai Group's factory in An Giang Province. The US has cut anti-dumping tariffs for Vietnamese tra fish. — VNA/VNS Photo Vũ Sinh

The final anti-dumping taxes on Vietnamese products have been set at US$0.15 per kilogramme (equivalent to 3.8 per cent of the export price), lower than the final results for POR14 at $1.37 per kilogramme.

Other Vietnamese exporters not examined by the DOC will be subject to a tariff of $2.39 per kilogramme, the same as the rate for POR14.

Big Vietnamese exporters, including Vĩnh Hoàn JSC and Biển Đông Seafood Company, will continue to enjoy a zero tariff rate.

The DOC is working on POR16. The MoIT advised local exporters to continue cooperating with the DOC, providing accurate information for positive final results.

The ministry will continue to coordinate with other ministries, sectors, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) and related export companies to take necessary actions to protect the rights and interests of the domestic tra fish businesses.

According to VASEP, in the first three months of this year, COVID-19 had a significant impact on Việt Nam's tra fish exports to many markets, causing export value to fall 29.3 per cent year-on-year to $334 million.

However, positive signs returned in March from China and the US. Việt Nam’s tra fish export value to China in March increased by 109 per cent compared to January.

During the first quarter, tra fish exports to this Asian market reached $63.2 million, accounting for 18.9 per cent of export value of this goods and passing the US market to become the largest market for Vietnamese tra fish. However, export value was still 36.4 per cent down compared to the same period last year.

Export value was expected to recover in the second quarter with growth of 30-40 per cent year-on-year, according to the association.

Meanwhile, Việt Nam’s tra fish export value to the US in March reached $23 million, up 26.4 per cent over the same month in 2019. Value reached $61.7 million in the first quarter, accounting for 18.5 per cent of the total, but falling 13.2 per cent year-on-year.

Export value to the EU was nearly $36.5 millionin Q1, down 36.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Besides that, Việt Nam saw a strong drop in tra fish export value to other major markets, such as ASEAN, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Australia.

Vietnamese tra fish have been subject to US anti-dumping duties since 2003 and annual reviews ever since.

Vietnamese tra fish exporters have faced export restrictions imposed by numerous nations, but still managed to ship over $2 billion worth of products in 2018 and 2019