The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) has opposed the US Department of Commerce’s new calculations of tax rates imposed on Vietnamese Tra fish imported to the US.
In its recent annual administrative review, the US department chose Indonesia as a benchmark country to calculate anti-dumping margins on Vietnam’s frozen fish fillet exports instead of Bangladesh which is used for the calculations seven times previously.
Accordingly, the new tax rates were adjusted to increase more than 10 times, from just several cents per kilo to several dollars per kilo.
The VASEP expressed its indignation over the DOC’s sudden benchmark country replacement and claimed the US decision was unreasonable.
According to the VASEP, the DOC relied on the Indonesian government’s study of its Tra fish prices based on information from just several localities of the country, resulting wider margins.
In the previous seven administrative reviews, Indonesia was not chosen as a model for tax calculations as it had no sufficient pricing and financial data. In fact, Indonesia imports frozen Tra fillets, mainly from Vietnam, and it does not export Tra fish products to the world market.
The VASEP and its Tra fish businesses will take necessary legal measures to protect the fishery industry and ask the DOC to correct its decision according to US laws and WTO agreements.
The VASEP proposed that the DOC maintain Bangladesh as the reference country for calculating prices of Vietnamese Tra fish products.
VASEP demands fish import tax recalculations
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors has opposed the US Department of Commerce’s new calculations of tax rates imposed on Vietnamese Tra fish imported to the US.
Source: VOV
