According to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), on September 10, 2025, the association issued Official Dispatch No. 156/CV-VASEP to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform, and the Directorate of Fisheries. The dispatch reported that the NOAA, under the United States Department of Commerce, had formally notified the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Viet Nam of its refusal to recognise the equivalency of 12 Vietnamese fisheries under the United States Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
As a result, seafood harvested from these fisheries will be banned from entering the US market starting January 1, 2026. This measure is tantamount to an import ban and will significantly impact the export of several key Vietnamese seafood products to the US, including tuna, swordfish, grouper, mackerel, mullet, crab, squid, and scad.
VASEP stressed that, in recent years, Viet Nam’s seafood sector, together with the government and local authorities, has made consistent and intensive efforts to modernise, strengthen responsibility, and enhance the management of fisheries. Measures include the National Assembly’s adoption of the 2017 Fisheries Law, increased resource allocation for local-level management, as well as ongoing compliance with IUU, SIMP and FIP programmes for crab and tuna. Viet Nam has also implemented “dolphin-safe” certification for tuna export supply chains and adopted a range of other legal frameworks and marine mammal protection programmes.
VASEP recommended that, to safeguard the interests of domestic seafood harvesting and aquaculture enterprises against NOAA’s decision, urgent short-term and long-term coordination measures are needed from the government and relevant ministries. These measures should provide support to help the seafood sector overcome challenges, reopen access to the US market for harvested seafood, and minimise or prevent the risk of export suspension from January 1, 2026.
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien on September 15 reiterated in his letter to Secretary Howard Lutnick his request for the DOC and NOAA to reconsider the decision, in order to prevent severe disruptions to bilateral trade and protect the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese fishermen and workers.
In the same letter, Minister Dien also urged the US Secretary of Commerce to take a fair and objective approach in the ongoing 19th administrative review of anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese shrimp imports. He highlighted that Vietnamese shrimp exporters are trustworthy partners who conduct fair business practices in the US market.
The minister underscored that these decisions not only directly affect Vietnamese producers, exporters, farmers, and fishermen but also impact US importers, workers, and consumers.
Viet Nam and the US maintain a comprehensive strategic partnership, built on trust and mutual benefit. Viet Nam regards the US as a key trading partner and has created the most favourable conditions for American enterprises and investors. Viet Nam remains committed to working closely with the US to address outstanding issues in a constructive and forward-looking spirit.
