Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien has called on US competent agencies to reconsider the denial of comparability findings for 12 Vietnamese fisheries.
On September 15, Dien sent a letter to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick regarding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s decision to deny comparability findings for 12 Vietnamese fisheries under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
In the letter, he urged the DOC and NOAA to reconsider the decision to avoid serious disruptions to bilateral trade and protect the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese fishermen and workers.
The minister also asked the US side to give an objective review to ensure a reasonable outcome for Vietnamese shrimp exporters, which he described as reliable, fair-trading partners in the US market, in the ongoing 19th administrative review of anti-dumping duties on shrimp imports from Vietnam.
Dien emphasised that the decisions not only affect Vietnamese producers, farmers, and fishermen, but also benefits US importers, workers, and consumers.
He reiterated that the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is built on mutual trust and benefit, and that Vietnam regards the US as a key trade partner. Vietnam is committed to providing the most favourable conditions for US businesses and investors and looks forward to close cooperation with US authorities to resolve outstanding issues in a constructive and forward-looking manner, he said.
Earlier, on September 10, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) sent an official letter to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Advisory Council on Administrative Reform, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment’s Department of Fisheries and Surveillance regarding NOAA’s notice to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. The NOAA had announced its denial of comparability findings for 12 Vietnamese fisheries.
Accordingly, imports from the affected fisheries will be prohibited starting January 1, 2026. The ban would severely impact exports of major Vietnamese seafood products such as tuna, swordfish, grouper, mackerel, crab, squid, and scad fish.
VASEP noted that significant efforts have been made by the Vietnamese seafood sector, government, and local authorities to modernise and enhance fisheries management.
These efforts include the enactment of the 2017 Fisheries Law by the National Assembly, allocation of more resources to local fisheries management, and adherence to international programmes such as the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing regulation, the Seafood Import Monitoring Programme (SIMP), and Fishery Improvement Projects (FIP) for crab and tuna. Moreover, the industry has implemented “Dolphin Safe” certification along the tuna supply chain and other legal frameworks protecting marine mammals.
VASEP has called for urgent short- and long-term coordination measures from the government and relevant ministries to safeguard the interests of domestic seafood harvesting and aquaculture firms following NOAA’s decision. It urged support for the fishing industry to address obstacles and secure access to the US market, in order to minimise impacts or avert a potential suspension of seafood exports from the beginning of 2026./.
