On April 29, 2020, the US Federal Register officially announced the final results of the 15th administrative review (POR15) for Vietnamese pangasius export shipments into Vietnam. US market in the period from August 1, 2017 – July 31, 2018.
Accordingly, two Vietnamese pangasius export enterprises: NTSF Seafood Joint Stock Company (mandatory defendant – NTSF SEAFOODS) and Can Tho Seafood Import-Export Joint Stock Company (voluntary defendant – CASEAMEX) will receive benefits. The tax rate is 0.15 USD/kg
The remaining Vietnamese enterprises exporting pangasius to the US enjoy a tax rate equal to the national tax rate: 2.39 USD/kg.
This is good news for Vietnamese pangasius exports in general and NTSF SEAFOODS; CASEAMEX in particular because compared to the tax rate of the previous review (POR14), this time the tax rate has been significantly reduced from 1.37 USD/kg (for NTSF SEAFOODS) to 0.15 USD/kg. .
In addition, the two largest pangasius exporters to the US market: VINH HOAN CORP and BIEN DONG SEAFOOD still keep their tax rates of 0% and 0.19%, respectively, during the POR15 review.
By the end of March 2020, the total export value of Vietnamese pangasius to the US market reached 61.77 million USD, down 13.2% over the same period last year. Despite a decrease compared to the same period last year, businesses have begun to see optimistic light from this market after a year when the value of pangasius exports to this market decreased continuously for 12 months.
With the sharp reduction in anti-dumping tax rates for two businesses, Vietnamese pangasius will have more hope and opportunities to expand export routes to the US market. However, up to this point, the COVID-19 epidemic is still disrupting the import and export activities of US businesses. Therefore, it may not be until the end of the second quarter of 2020 for Vietnam’s pangasius exports to truly become stronger to return to the US market.
