According to Tinker, in 2002, under pressure from local catfish farmers, the US passed legislation forbidding basa and tra from being marketed as catfish. Now, American producers want basa and tra to be considered as catfish so they will have to meet stringent safety standards imposed in 2008, after banned antibiotics were found in Chinese seafood imports.
"If the law is approved, it will be very hard for Vietnamese tra and basa to enter the US market," said Nguyen Viet Thang, chairman of Vietnam's Fishery Association.
In May, the US sentenced a Vietnamese-American man to five years in prison and 12 million dollars in fines for re-labelling imports of Vietnamese tra and basa as other species of fish to circumvent the anti-dumping duties.
Protectionism? Vietnamese Rue US Catfish Duties
VIET NAM - Vietnamese authorities on Wednesday criticised a US decision to maintain anti-dumping duties on catfish imports from Viet Nam.
