In a blow to a potential easing of regulation around seafood exports from Vietnam to the US, the latter's Department of Commerce has rejected Vietnam's bid to be designated as a "market economy," the Financial Times reported.
The news site described the decision as a blow to Vietnam, which is pushing to deepen trade ties with its most important export market. Vietnam aims to grow in clout as a manufacturing alternative to China.
The upgrade from Vietnam's current designation as a "non-market economy" would have further boosted exports and reduced punitive tariffs on products such as shrimp from the Southeast Asian country.
The US Southern Shrimp Alliance welcomed the decision, claiming that as a Communist country, Vietnam "continues to enforce laws that prohibit the private ownership of land."
"At the end of [this] proceeding, Commerce concluded that Vietnam continues to be a non-market economy for the purposes of the antidumping duty laws."
The alliance, joined by a large, diverse group of US industries, objected to Commerce's decision in 2023 to conduct a formal administrative proceeding, arguing that the "federal government was wasting time and limited resources in order to curry favor with another non-democratic government aspiring to be a client state of the Chinese Communist Party."
It made multiple submissions opposing Vietnam's request to be treated as a market economy.
On July 24, seven US Senators wrote to Commerce to express their concerns regarding the "damage that would be done to American industries by taking steps to appease the Communist Party of Vietnam," it said.
Vietnamese vannamei export data up to June 2024
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