The US Senate on February 4 gave final congressional approval to afive-year farm bill that is feared to hinder Vietnamese exports of traand basa fish (scientifically named Pangasius).
Under theprovision, the inspection of catfish, including Vietnamese tra and basafish, will be moved out of the remit of the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) and into the Department of Agriculture.
Accordingly, it is a must for Vietnamese catfish exported to the USmarket to fulfill all requirements set for local products fromproduction to packaging and exporting.
However, Senator JohnMcCain called the provision, which was proposed by the US CatfishAssociation and southern lawmakers, a trade barrier that aims to protectthe interests of US catfish breeders.
Along with catfish,the bill also requires beef, lamb and poultry producers, among others,to stamp their products with the country of origin.
TheCongressional Budget Office says the 956 billion USD legislation willsave 16.6 billion USD over 10 years compared to current funding. Using adifferent scoring, congressional leaders put the saving at 23 billionUSD.
About 8 billion USD in saving over 10 years comes fromcuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme, commonly knownas food stamps, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of the bill’sspending. The programme provides funds to about 47 million low-incomepeople to buy food.
The Senate voted 68-32 to pass thesweeping bill, which was also passed by the House of Representativeswith 217 votes in favour and 210 against. The White House said PresidentBarack Obama would sign the bill.-VNA
Under theprovision, the inspection of catfish, including Vietnamese tra and basafish, will be moved out of the remit of the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) and into the Department of Agriculture.
Accordingly, it is a must for Vietnamese catfish exported to the USmarket to fulfill all requirements set for local products fromproduction to packaging and exporting.
However, Senator JohnMcCain called the provision, which was proposed by the US CatfishAssociation and southern lawmakers, a trade barrier that aims to protectthe interests of US catfish breeders.
Along with catfish,the bill also requires beef, lamb and poultry producers, among others,to stamp their products with the country of origin.
TheCongressional Budget Office says the 956 billion USD legislation willsave 16.6 billion USD over 10 years compared to current funding. Using adifferent scoring, congressional leaders put the saving at 23 billionUSD.
About 8 billion USD in saving over 10 years comes fromcuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme, commonly knownas food stamps, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of the bill’sspending. The programme provides funds to about 47 million low-incomepeople to buy food.
The Senate voted 68-32 to pass thesweeping bill, which was also passed by the House of Representativeswith 217 votes in favour and 210 against. The White House said PresidentBarack Obama would sign the bill.-VNA
