According to VASEP Vietnamese companies have expressed indignation and concern over the U.S Department of Commerce’s (DOC) preliminary antidumping duty rates in the 6th administrative review applied for certain Pangasius frozen fillets of Vietnam exported to the USA. VASEP said that the duty rates are in excess of 100%, far exceeding any prior results in this unfair dumping case lasting from over 8 years and clearly amounting to a punitive tariff on Vietnamese fish fillet exports.
Experts informed that the US DOC’s preliminary determination violates well-established US Department of Commerce’s principles of law and policy. Futher, the calculated dumping rates cannot be supported by the record evidence submitted in this review. The main concern of VASEP is the DOC’s unjustified change in the surrogate country used to value raw material inputs.
VASEP and its members believe the results are politically motivated, coming after significant recent lobbying efforts by the Catfish Farmers of America (CFA). The political nature of this punitive result is in clear violation of the letter and spirit of the free trade agreements between the US and Vietnam.
