Metairie, La. – U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) sent a letter to Theodore G. Osius III, nominee to be ambassador to Vietnam, addressing issues of concern to Louisiana’s seafood industries. In particular, Vitter is concerned about the safety of seafood from Vietnam and the illegal trade practice of seafood dumping which negatively affects the market value of Louisiana seafood. Vitter is holding the nomination until these issues are resolved.
“We need to know that the food we eat will be safe and that our Louisiana seafood industries can compete fairly in international markets,” Vitter said. “That means Vietnamese seafood imports need to be held to the same safety standards and trade practices.”
In his letter, Vitter asks for commitments to reducing unfair and illegal subsidies provided to shrimp exports to the United States and ensuring the Vietnamese government complies with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new food safety regulations regarding catfish imports.
The text of the letter is below.
September 24, 2014
Theodore G. Osius III
U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Legislative Affairs
Washington, DC 20520Dear Mr. Osius:
Before you are confirmed as our ambassador to Vietnam, I want to raise two important matters and get feedback on the role you would envision playing to actively help U.S. consumers and the domestic seafood industry. Specifically, what will you do to engage the Vietnamese government directly to help reduce unfair and illegal subsidies provided to shrimp exports to the United States? In addition, what will be your level of commitment to ensuring the Vietnamese government comes into swift compliance with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new food safety regulations regarding catfish exports? It is important for Vietnam to provide more transparency surrounding its level of government support to the shrimp industry. Moreover, U.S. consumers will continue to be at risk of eating potentially unsafe food until we have assurance that Vietnam’s food safety system for catfish is at least equivalent to the new program under UDSA.
As you’re aware, U.S. Customs import figures for shrimp of all types through July show the highest volume on record. This is 12.8 percent higher than the volume at the same time last year and 6.5 percent above the long term average since 2006. So, it is of the utmost importance for consumers and domestic industry that imported seafood competes on a fair playing field and matches domestic safety standards.
Over the years, the U.S. seafood industry has brought many cases against Vietnam alleging the illegal trade practice of seafood dumping. We need more transparency from Vietnam to guard against the possibility of illegal dumping and to better understand why Vietnam is flooding the U.S. market and selling shrimp and catfish at prices below fair market value. This action is absolutely vital to ensuring fair competition for our domestic seafood and helps maintain good trade relations with Vietnam.
Also, the United States Department of Agriculture is working to finalize its draft rule for the inspection of catfish and catfish-like products, thus culminating an effort that began in the 2008 Farm Bill due to concerns over the safety of catfish products – predominantly imported – containing substances banned for aquaculture use in the United States. I ask that you engage the Vietnamese government about willingly and actively working with the U.S. government in trying to swiftly meet compliance of the new regulatory standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Vietnam must accept that these new regulations are justified, designed to improve seafood safety, and have no intent on unfairly restricting trade.
As with trade concerns, directly engaging with the Vietnamese to commit to ensuring their fish exports conform to our safety requirements is essential to protect American seafood consumers, and also ensures our domestic producers are not disadvantaged in the marketplace by competing with products that do not meet strict safety standards.
Seafood production is an important way of life for many in Louisiana, particularly for our vibrant Vietnamese-American community. I look forward to hearing back from you on these matters. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff, Travis Johnson, at 202-224-4623.
Sincerely,
David Vitter
U.S. Senator
Source: Office of U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.)