Delta Daily News
Decision for Lower Taxes on Catfish Imports Reversed
By Andranita Williams
BELZONI, Miss.–Mississippi Delta catfish farmers will not face the threat of easier catfish imports from Vietnam, following the reversal of a decision that would have dramatically lessened a tax those governments pay to send their fish here.
Those governments currently pay what’s called an anti-dumping duty. The current price they pay is $2.39 per kilogram of fish.
A preliminary decision by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce would have reduced that to just 14 cents, making it much less expensive for them to import fish to the U.S., and making the competition tougher for Delta catfish farmers.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is doing a victory lap over the decision.
“The Commerce Department actually heeded our warnings and the rescission of this review is a clear victory for the U.S. catfish industry, which is so important to Mississippi and other rural states. It’s also a victory for American consumers, who will not be put at risk from tainted imported catfish,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
She said those countries not only endanger Mississippi’s economy by selling cheap catfish, but also violate human rights in their labor practices and use dangerous drugs and chemicals in raising their catfish.
The decision does not keep them from selling fish here, but it does make it a bit tougher.