After the lawsuit, pangasius fish is on firmer footing.

25 years ago, the Vietnamese seafood industry was shaken by the anti-dumping lawsuit against pangasius from the Catfish Farmers of America (CFA). The lawsuit was not only a story about tariffs but also posed a series of legal, market and industry management challenges, forcing the pangasius industry to quickly adapt. Vietnamese businesses gained more experience and courage in the marketplace, continued to invest in resources, technology and markets, bringing billions of dollars to the country each year, creating stable jobs for more than half a million workers.

Shock from America

The lawsuit was triggered by the rapid increase in market share of Vietnamese catfish in the US market in late 2000. In just a few years, the export volume to this market increased from 260 tons in 1998 to 3,000 tons in 2000, reaching about 8,000 tons in 2001. With a selling price of 0.8 - 1 USD/pound cheaper than local catfish, Vietnamese catfish quickly became popular with American consumers. As a result, the total value of US catfish products sold decreased from 446 million USD in 2000 to 385 million USD in 2001.

Under this pressure, the US Congress passed HR.2964, allowing only American catfish to be called “catfish”, removing tra and basa fish from this familiar name. Then, on June 28, 2002, CFA officially sued 53 Vietnamese enterprises for dumping in the US market. The US Department of Commerce (DOC) and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) imposed anti-dumping taxes on Vietnamese tra fish from 36.84% - 63.88%. Tra fish exports to the US dropped dramatically, many businesses struggled, and fishermen fell into difficult situations.

Overcoming difficulties to grow up

Despite the heavy impact, the lawsuit became a "push" forcing industry participants to change their production mindset, market approach and development methods. Many businesses quickly invested in upgrading technology, diversifying products, and expanding markets to many countries other than the US. Fishermen gradually joined the production - processing - consumption chain, gradually reducing small-scale, fragmented and spontaneous farming to ensure product quality.

Mr. Doan Toi - General Director of Nam Viet Group recalled: “The tra and basa fish lawsuit was like a wake-up call. Enterprises realized that if they want to go the long way, they must go together, professionally, transparently and standardized. From this shock, enterprises invested more systematically in farming areas, processing factories, and improved product quality to be able to compete in any market in the world .”

Raising parent catfish for artificial reproduction to proactively produce offspring. Photo: MINH HIEN

Mr. Le Trung Dung - Vice President of An Giang Fisheries Association (AFA) emphasized: "25 years ago, we did not have much international legal experience. Thanks to this lawsuit, we learned how to connect, share information, and respond together. The big lesson is to proactively monitor the market, give early warnings, and prepare a legal basis to protect the rights of members."

For farmers, the lesson is no less profound. Mr. Nguyen Van Hai, a long-time pangasius farmer in Vinh Thanh Trung commune, recalled: “At that time, fish prices fell dramatically, and people were facing difficulties. I understood that we could no longer raise fish in a fragmented manner but had to cooperate with businesses, sign contracts to ensure consumption, and apply VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards. Thanks to that, pangasius products could travel further and be present in more markets.”

Great Lessons

Pangasius is currently the national key product. Each year, the Mekong Delta raises 5,800 hectares, with an output of 1.4 - 1.6 million tons, exported to 146 countries and territories. This is the result of the joint efforts of 5 parties: State - enterprises - fishermen - scientists - banks.

The lawsuit left many valuable lessons. For businesses, it is impossible to depend on a single market but it is necessary to diversify export markets, make books transparent, comply with international laws, promote investment in deep processing, build brands, and products towards green - clean - convenient. For fishermen, it is necessary to participate in the chain, cooperate with businesses to stabilize output. At the same time, comply with safe farming processes, import market criteria, and switch from "farming a lot" to "farming quality".

For the State and associations, it is necessary to establish an early warning mechanism for litigation risks, strengthen international legal capacity, build a legal support fund, and promote economic diplomacy. The Government has drawn many lessons from the tra fish case and applied them to other industries such as shrimp and steel when facing similar lawsuits in the international market.

Looking back 25 years, since the lawsuit, the Vietnamese pangasius industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry with a solid position on the world seafood map. The lawsuit once caused difficulties, but it was also a turning point that helped businesses, fishermen and the State change their thinking and improve their capacity so that Vietnamese pangasius not only survive but also reach out globally.

MINH HIEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/sau-vu-kien-ca-tra-them-vung-buoc-a462133.html