The President of the US National Fisheries Institute (NFI), John Connelly, affirmed that USDA has made blunder to expand the definition of catfish to include Tra and Basa (or Vietnamese pangasius). He also said that the decision would cause harm to both US and Vietnam. It is told that if Vietnam’s pangasius production is limited that would reduce the US’s export of soya-bean, an important product for pangasius production, to Vietnam. The ban on the product’s coming to US as the result of USDA’s decision would impact on people in Idaho, Massachusetts, and Florida, which are important states of the US, because the recruitment for the product processing shrinks.
According to Connelly Tra and Basa of Vietnam are safe and healthy products, adding that trade is important in the US-Vietnam relationship. He told that the increase in import of these products would, in return, help boost US’s exports to Vietnam. He further informed that the Obama administration is trying hard to reshape and reenergise as well as renew American leadership abroad, to take steps that damage the relationship with developing countries, seems to be a faulty and wrong part for the president in the administration to take.
Connelly told that in 2002, the US Congress did not classify Vietnamese Tra and Basa as catfish. So around seven years later, the redefinition that aims to prevent the products coming in from Vietnam to compete against the domestic catfish is problematic and unfair to American consumers.
