Hanoi has said the antidumping duty of more than 400% on honey from Vietnam that the US announced would threaten the livelihoods of Vietnamese farmers.

Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang at the press conference on Feb 17. Photo: MOFA

The anti-dumping rate once imposed would cause serious impacts on Vietnam’s beekeeping as the US is the major import market, Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said today [Feb 17].

The move would harm Vietnam’s horticulture, in which beekeeping helps pollination, affecting beekeepers and farmers in the Southern Region and Central Highlands of Vietnam, Hang said at the Thursday press conference.

She emphasized that Vietnam willingly and regularly works with the US through existing mechanisms such as the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) to boost bilateral economic, trade and investment relations, promptly resolves arising issues, contributing to promoting the development of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership for the benefit of the two peoples.

Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam are conducting discussions with the US side to resolve the case, suggesting that the US measures in this matter must be based on an objective and fair basis, in accordance with WTO regulations, without causing unreasonable damage to Vietnamese beekeepers and businesses.

At the end of November 2021, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced the preliminary anti-dumping tax rate for Vietnamese honey. Accordingly, the anti-dumping rate for all Vietnamese honey exporters is 412.49%, more than double the rate that the American Honey Manufacturers Association originally proposed, 207%.

Along with Vietnam, four other countries including Argentina, Brazil, India, and Ukraine are also on the list of the antidumping duty but Vietnamese honey is subject to the highest rate.