US issues unfavorable ruling for Vietnamese tra and basa fish

Processing tra fish for export (photo: VNA)

From the above decision, the tax rate on frozen tra and basa fillets of Vietnamese enterprises has increased dozens of times, from just a few cents/kg to a few dozen cents or a few USD/kg. Also in the above announcement of the US Department of Commerce, Vinh Hoan enterprise, the unit with the largest turnover in exporting tra and basa fish to the US market, which used to enjoy a 0% tax rate, will now have to pay a tax of 0.19 USD/kg. Sixteen other Vietnamese enterprises, including Binh An, Hung Vuong, Cadovimex, Anvifish, Docifish..., exporting similar products, will have to pay a higher tax rate, from 0.77 USD to 3.87 USD/kg.

The change of the third country as the basis for calculating anti-dumping tax by the US Department of Commerce is part of the agency's eighth annual administrative review of Vietnamese tra and basa fish exported to the US. Before the review, the Catfish Farmers Association in the US, which had lost its market in the US, had put pressure on the government through the US Congress to make things difficult for Vietnamese businesses.

In 2012, Vietnamese businesses exported frozen tra and basa fillets worth $358 million to the US, making it Vietnam’s second largest market. Meanwhile, the area for catfish farming in the US has been cut in half, from about 67,000 hectares to 33,000 hectares.

The decision by the US Department of Commerce is expected to take effect next week and last until early 2014, when the agency conducts the next administrative review./.