First, they insisted Vietnamese tra and basa fish were not catfish, and regulated that this classification cannot be used for such imports.
Now, US farmers are demanding that the same Vietnamese tra and basa fish are treated as catfish and be subjected to additional food safety inspections by the US Department of Agriculture, a process that could result in a temporary ban on imports that could last around two years or more.
Worried Vietnamese exporters have asked that the US should not reverse its own earlier decision to include the two fish varieties in the catfish list.
They have also urged the US budget watchdog to reject a proposal on food safety inspections proposed by the Department of Agriculture.
It would be unfair for Vietnamese tra and basa exporters if the watchdog approved the proposal to include the fish in the catfish list, said Truong Dinh Hoe, secretary general of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors.
Hoe said if the proposal became law, it would affect not only Vietnamese farmers but also US consumers.
The association's appeal came after US Office of Management and Budget last week decided to extend its review of rules on catfish food safety inspections proposed by the department under the 2008 Farm Bill.
The bill is aimed at imported beef, poultry, pork and catfish, which are defined as species subject to mandatory inspection to protect US consumers.
Officials from the US State Department and the Department of Commerce and several members of Congress have criticized the proposal, saying catfish imports were being unfairly targeted, particularly tra and basa which are marketed as pangasius fish from Vietnam.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has included the two fish varieties from Vietnam in its proposal on which the US watchdog will take a decision later this month.
The proposal is an act of trade war unfairly favoring the US catfish businesses, and not guided by safety or health concerns, said Vietnamese deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Le Phuong.
He noted that these Vietnamese fish meet standards in 127 markets around the globe, including the US.
Phuong said US authorities should carefully consider the proposal and ensure that they avoid getting embroiled in another naming controversy.
The US government had in 2002 banned Vietnamese tra and basa from being labeled catfish in the US market, and also passed an order applying additional duties on the products. "It is unacceptable now to treat them as catfish (after ruling that they were not)," said Phuong.
Hoe said local exporters were worried about the proposal and about what would happen after the inspection responsibility shifts from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the USDA.
US consumers choose the fish, mainly imported from Vietnam or China, instead of catfish in their meals. A US consumer consumed 0.26 pounds of pangasius in 2008 compared to 0.03 pounds in 2002 as opposed to one pound for catfish, according to the association.
US Catfish Farmers Association of America has lobbied the USDA to start inspections and regulations on imported fish, in order to deal with competition from Vietnamese and Chinese pangasius fish.
Foreign governments usually take two to five years to negotiate formal agreements for USDA inspections of their products. Vietnamese pangasius in particular would consequently be temporarily banned from the US if negotiations took place.
Tra and basa or pangasius fish are important national export products, like rice and shrimp grown in the Mekong Delta.
Vietnam shipped 47,000 tons of tra and basa fish worth US$134 million to the US last year, accounting for 8 percent of the total quantity of these fish varieties exported.
Seafood exports are a major foreign exchange earner for the country, posting export revenues of $4.25 billion in 2009.
Reported by Minh Quang
