U.S. shrimp farmers latest challenge to relations with Vietnam
U.S. shrimp farmers latest challenge to relations with Vietnam
Agence France-Presse Hanoi
Vietnam has condemned moves by the U.S. shrimp industry to consider anti-dumping action against its seafood exporters, in the latest challenge to bilateral trade relations between the two former military foes.
U.S. fishermen and officials from eight southern and eastern seaboard states met last week to mull a lawsuit against up to 16 countries, claiming they were selling their shrimp exports in the United States at below market prices.
The shrimpers are to announce within the next two weeks if they will initiate legal action against Vietnam, China, Thailand -- the world's largest shrimp producer -- and other Central and Southern American countries.
They claim that increasing quantities of imported pond-raised marine crustaceans have prompted a large decline in the price processing companies are paying for wild shrimp caught in U.S. waters.
If successful, new tariffs could be imposed on imported shrimp, which could be the first step towards import quotas.
The dumping accusations follow hot on the heels of legal action taken by U.S. catfish farmers against their Vietnamese counterparts in the first major spat since their landmark, tariff-slashing bilateral trade agreement came into force in December last year.
Nguyen Huu Dung, general secretary of the Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), rejected accusations by the U.S. shrimp industry that Vietnamese exports had caused material damage to their market.
"They are totally unjustified in saying that Vietnamese producers have dumped their shrimps on the US market," he told AFP. "Our shrimps are sold at a higher price than those from many other countries."
His comments were echoed by foreign ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh.
"There are many countries selling shrimp into the American market. I can categorically say that Vietnam never dumps its shrimps. They are sold at market price," she told reporters on Thursday.
The United States was Vietnam's largest shrimp export market last year, accepting 27,200 tons of the tasty crustaceans worth US$317 million, and accounting for 43 percent of the Vietnam's total shrimp exports.
Japan, Vietnam's second biggest importer, purchased $268.5 million worth of the country's largest fisheries product, according to VASEP.
Vietnam netted seafood exports of $1.8 billion in 2001.
Analysts say that both the U.S. catfish and shrimp industries are using Vietnam and other developing countries as a scapegoat for their woes as they battle the impact of global recession.