FSIS is one step closer to solve the Asian pangasius imports issue
US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is expected to declare that pangasius products from three Asian countries are equivalent to the standards imposed by the US regulation.
The equivalency determination, which is subject to a 30-day period of public comment and a final decision by the FSIS before it is finalized, will allow species including pangasius and basa from those countries to enter the U.S. market.
“All three countries have submitted documentation to FSIS to establish the equivalence of their siluriformes fish inspection system and eligibility to export siluriformes fish to the United States,” the USDA said in a 14 September constituent update. “FSIS reviewed the documentation submitted, conducted on-site audits of these countries, and concluded that, as implemented, the inspection systems are equivalent to that of the United States.”
Vietnam has complained at World Trade Organisation against the trade barriers instituted by the US authorities and is seeking bilateral talks to resolve the issue. Now, this could be solved by the FSIS report. National Fisheries Institute (NFI), the US trade group for the industry, is admitting that FSIS announcement means that "that catfish from Vietnam, China, and Thailand will be permitted to enter the U.S. market for the indefinite future".
Nevertheless, NFI warns that efforts to impede pangasius imports from Vietnam and other Asian countries are underway in Washington D.C. "NFI anticipates that proponents of blocking catfish and catfish-like species from the U.S. market will work in the regulatory and legislative processes to stop or delay this proposal from taking effect", said the group in a statement. In May, FSIS inspectors carried out on-site inspections at pangasius-processing facilities in the Southeast Asian country.
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