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US senator protests over ban on Vietnam’s fish
The US Wall Street Journal has reported that senator Max Baucus was completely right when saying that the US has no rational reason to launch a trade war with Vietnam over pangasius fish, which is similar to US-produced catfish.
The congressman said the US Department of Agriculture is considering a ban on the pretext of food safety - whether the Vietnamese fish should receive a stricter safety inspection regime or not. However, he argued that no cases of Vietnamese fish making American consumers sick have been reported.
Mr. Baucus went on to warn that such a ban would encourage Vietnam to retaliate by banning US beef. The pangasius industry is crucial to the Mekong Delta economy, employing thousands of local people directly and indirectly. Meanwhile, Vietnam is the fifth largest market for US beef exports; American ranchers sold US$131 million in beef to the country last year alone.
In fact, several countries banned US beef earlier this decade for fear of mad cow disease, and the American industry has had an uphill battle to get the bans lifted.
Mr. Baucus recently told CongressDaily that "US agricultural products, including safe, high-quality Montana beef, face unscientific trade restrictions in many important markets." "If we expect other countries to follow the rules and drop these restrictions, it is critical that we play by the rules and do not block imports for arbitrary or unscientific reasons."
The Wall Street Journal said that impeding the free trade can hurt the protectionist as much as the exporter and advised President Obama's Agriculture Department to be wise and heed ‘the cattleman's counsel’.
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