US preliminary determination Reduce antidumping duties on Vietnamese pangasius.

DNHN - The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has just issued the 19th round of review (POR19) preliminary results for Vietnamese frozen pangasius fillets exported to the US between August 1, 2021 and July 31, 2022.

According to the preliminary conclusion of POR19, two defendant enterprises are required to have the DOC determine preliminary anti-dumping tax rates: Vinh Hoan Joint Stock Company (Vinh Hoan Seafood, stock code VHC - HoSE) and Can Tho Seafood Import-Export Joint Stock Company (Caseamex, stock code CCA - UPCoM). I.D.I Multinational Investment and Development Joint Stock Company (IDI stock code - exchange: HoSE), I.D.I Water Joint Stock Company Cafatex products, Loc Kim Chi Seafood Joint Stock Company, and Hung Vuong Joint Stock Company are eligible to receive a separate tax rate of 0.14/kg. The remaining businesses are subject to a 0.14/kg national tax rate.

Previously, in the conclusions of POR17 and POR18, the United States determined that two Vietnamese defendants were subject to anti-dumping duties of 0 USD/kg and 3,87 USD/kg, respectively. One business has an individual tax rate of $1.94 per kilogramme, while 32 businesses have a national tax rate of $2.39 per kilogramme.

Thus, the preliminary tax rate for POR19 is significantly lower than the final results of the previous POR18 review. This is a very encouraging sign for Vietnamese exporters of pangasius shortly.

In this review, DOC chose Indonesia as an alternative country to calculate the dumping margin because: 1) Indonesia has an economy similar to Vietnam's; 2) Indonesia produced substantially similar goods to the goods under investigation during the review period; and 3) Indonesia provides usable and reliable data to help DOC evaluate Vietnam's production factors.

DOC issued a notice on August 25, 2023, permitting parties to submit requests for anti-dumping tax reviews for the next review period (POR20), which spans August 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023. The application submission deadline is August 31, 2023. Several Vietnamese businesses and American plaintiffs have submitted review requests to this point. The DOC is anticipated to consider initiating the next administrative review between September and October of 2023.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnamese pangasius exports to the United States reached 169 million USD on August 15, 2023, a decrease of 59% compared to the same period last year. In the first half of this year, the export price of Vietnamese pangasius to the US market fluctuated between $2.97 and $3.45 per kilogramme. Vietnam primarily exports frozen pangasius fillets, frozen pangasius pieces/cuts, frozen breaded pangasius, dried puffed pangasius, and fried pangasius skin to the United States.

Vinh Hoan, East Sea Seafood, and Van Duc Tien Giang are the top three Vietnamese companies exporting pangasius to the United States, accounting for 51%, 18%, and 11% of the value, respectively.

Industry and Trade Magazine reports