HYDE-SMITH OPPOSES GIVING VIETNAM ‘MARKET ECONOMY’ STATUS, SEES THREAT TO U.S. FARM-RAISED CATFISH
Miss. Senator Joins Letter Asking Biden Commerce Dept. to Reject Vietnam Bid for Greater Access to U.S. Markets
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) recently signed a letter in strong defense of American jobs, including Mississippi’s farm-raised catfish industry, and against a U.S. Department of Commerce review that could give market economy status to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, is among several colleagues led by U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) who signed the letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo asking that Vietnam not be granted market economy status. Vietnam is currently a designated non-market economy.
“I simply do not agree with the Biden administration’s inclination to favor Vietnam in ways that would negatively affect U.S. national security and domestic industries,” Hyde-Smith said. “For us in Mississippi, giving Vietnam market economy status would cause the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry tremendous harm. We would be turning a blind eye to its government-led market manipulation and making it easier for subsidized Vietnamese catfish to flood into our country.”
Non-market economies face additional U.S. sanctions because they operate based on government intervention, often due to totalitarian and communist regimes, such as in the case of Vietnam. The Commerce Department is reviewing Vietnam’s request to be granted market economy status.
In their letter to Raimondo, the Senators detail why Vietnam is undeserving of the special privilege of market economy status.
“This administration may nevertheless believe that granting market economy status, despite the overwhelming evidence, would advance American interests by drawing Vietnam out of China’s sphere of influence and into ours. However, there is no evidence that Vietnam will change its diplomatic or military policies regarding China in exchange for greater market access. Vietnam already enjoys a goods trade surplus of over $100 billion a year with the United States, yet continues to forge closer relations with the People’s Republic of China,” the Senators wrote.
“The U.S. Department of Commerce has a mandate to advance and promote America’s interests, not to undermine our industries in pursuit of a misguided geopolitical strategy. We urge you to honor this mandate and continue to treat Vietnam as a non-market economy,” the Senators concluded.
Earlier this year, Hyde-Smith led a successful effort to convince the Commerce Department to reverse a preliminary decision that would have greatly reduced antidumping duties on imported catfish from companies controlled by the Vietnam government.
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08/02/2024 UPDATE: The U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday determined that Vietnam will retain its non-market economy status for the purposes of U.S. antidumping law. The decision follows arguments made by Senators Hyde-Smith, Cotton, and others that elevating Vietnam’s status would be harmful to American jobs, including U.S. farm-raised catfish operations in Mississippi and other states. Read the Commerce Department announcement here.