A number of Democratic Senators are attempting to have a US catfish industry plan to impose stricter inspections on pangasius imported from Vietnam dismissed out of concerns of a probable trade war. The potential backlash may affect the US beef industry in that Vietnam is the US’s fifth largest beef market.
On Monday, Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Kerry of Massachusetts and six others addressed US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack in a letter. They noted the risk intrinsic to incorporating the Vietnamese fish into the new inspection process lobbied by US fish producers – a significant farm bill that Congress eventually approved – last year.
Including catfish in the ban would prove a "de facto ban on exports from key trading partners," the letter reads, The Associated Press reports. And "such action may prompt retaliatory measures against US exports."