The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has decided to reduce anti-dumping taxes on tra fish (pangasius) imported from Vietnam, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Accordingly, the anti-dumping tax on several Vietnamese businesses’ tra fish products exported to the US from August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009 drops to zero percent instead of a previous proposal of 130 percent.

This was a final result of the sixth anti-dumping duty administrative review (POR6) on tra fish, said VASEP General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe.

He said that the positive move was attributable to the fact that DOC chose Bangladesh , which shares many similarities with Vietnam in breeding standards and input costs, as a third country for its calculation of anti-dumping tariffs on Vietnamese tra fish, instead of the Philippines.

However, the DOC still imposes a tax of 2.11 USD per kilo for businesses that export tra fish to the US for the first time, he added.

In 2010, Vietnam ’s tra fish exports to the US reached 130 million USD, accounting for over 10 percent of the country’s total tra fish export turnover./.