The US newspaper the Wall StreetJournal has published an article on US Senator Max Baucus’s attitudeover Vietnam’s “tra” and “basa” pangasius, saying that there's noreason for America to launch a trade war with Vietnam over fish.
“He's dead right about a trade issue now percolating in Washington, ” said the newspaper on July 14.
The article, entitled “Max Baucus's Fish Sense - Protectionism oftenhurts the protectionist”, outlined this controversial topic inWashington and underlined the possibility that the US Department ofAgriculture (USDA) could effectively ban imports of pangasius fish fromVietnam, which are similar to US-produced catfish.
The ostensible reason for the move would be food safety and the USDA isconsidering whether Vietnamese fish should be subject to a strictersafety inspection regime. However, the article said that there havebeen no reported cases of Vietnamese fish making American consumerssick and the proposed inspections would be onerous.
It quoted US Senator Max Baucus as telling the “Congress Daily” that“If we expect other countries to follow the rules and drop theserestrictions, it is critical that we play by the rules and do not blockimports for arbitrary or unscientific reasons."
The US Senator fears that a US ban on Vietnamese pangasius would spur Hanoi into a retaliatory ban on US beef./.
“He's dead right about a trade issue now percolating in Washington, ” said the newspaper on July 14.
The article, entitled “Max Baucus's Fish Sense - Protectionism oftenhurts the protectionist”, outlined this controversial topic inWashington and underlined the possibility that the US Department ofAgriculture (USDA) could effectively ban imports of pangasius fish fromVietnam, which are similar to US-produced catfish.
The ostensible reason for the move would be food safety and the USDA isconsidering whether Vietnamese fish should be subject to a strictersafety inspection regime. However, the article said that there havebeen no reported cases of Vietnamese fish making American consumerssick and the proposed inspections would be onerous.
It quoted US Senator Max Baucus as telling the “Congress Daily” that“If we expect other countries to follow the rules and drop theserestrictions, it is critical that we play by the rules and do not blockimports for arbitrary or unscientific reasons."
The US Senator fears that a US ban on Vietnamese pangasius would spur Hanoi into a retaliatory ban on US beef./.
