The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has revised a previous preliminary decision and will not impose any antidumping duty for pangasius products from two of Vietnam’s top pangasius exporters.
In a preliminary determination posted on the U.S. Federal Register on 28 December last year, the DOC said that Vinh Hoan and another leading pangasius exporter from Vietnam, Navico, would face a weighted average dumping margin of USD 0.09 (EUR 0.07) per kilogram from 1 August, 2018 through 31 July, 2019.
However, in its final review of the 16th period review (POR16), the DOC decided to reverse course and grant an antidumping duty of zero percent for the period, Vinh Hoan announced on 29 June. Navico received the same duty of zero percent as Vinh Hoan’s, a representative from the company confirmed to SeafoodSource on 29 June.
In 2019, Navico said it was seeking permission from the DOC to resume exports of pangasius to the U.S. following years of suspension. The company has yet to ship any commercial cargo to the U.S., but still has plans to do so, according to the company representative. However, she did not provide a timeline for the resumption of U.S. exports.
In the final POR15 for the period from 1 August, 2017, to 31 July, 2018, DOC kept the duty for Vinh Hoan and Bien Dong Seafood unchanged at zero percent and reduced the rates imposed on other Vietnamese pangasius companies. The final duty for exporters examined as mandatory and voluntary respondents in the review is USD 0.15 (EUR 0.13) per kilogram, or around 3.8 percent of the export price of a kilogram. Those not examined as mandatory or voluntary respondents in the review will be taxed at USD 2.39 (EUR 2.00) per kilogram.
Vietnam earned USD 102 million (EUR 85.7 million) from pangasius exports to the U.S. between January and April, up 36.7 percent over the same period 2020, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reported last month. In May, Vinh Hoan’s sales to the U.S., its biggest market, soared 188 percent year-on-year to VND 314 billion (USD 13.7 million, EUR 11.2 million).
Photo courtesy of Vinh Hoan
