WASHINGTON (WSFA) – Alabama’s two U.S. senators are joining several of their fellow Republican colleagues in urging the Biden administration not to move forward with plans they say would create a “disastrous economic outlook for U.S. catfish farmers and processers.”
Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt signed onto a letter Wednesday addressed to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The senators asked the secretary to reverse a preliminary decision that would “significantly reduce antidumping duties on imported catfish from Vietnam.”
The senators say the administration’s decision could reduce anti-dumping duties on all catfish producers controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam from $2.39/kg to just $0.14/kg.
Currently, the duty order treats exporters from countries like Vietnam, which are designated by the Commerce Department as non-market economies, or NMEs, based on their independence from the Communist Party’s control. The great the party’s control over an exporter, the higher the anti-dumping duty rate.
“Alabama is the number two state in American catfish production, raising one-third of the world’s catfish,” said Sen. Tuberville. “As a former catfish restaurant owner, I know firsthand how critical catfish are to our economy. It is important that we put our American catfish farmers first. That’s why I’m proud to join this effort.”
The senators contend the current duty has helped level the playing field for the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry, and that if the administration’s plan is finalized, it will allow for cheaper Vietnamese imports to “flood the U.S. market and put catfish farmers and processors out of business.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Alabama is home to approximately 66 farm-raised catfish farms, predominantly across the Black Belt Region. Those farms support more than 2,400 people and have an estimated $92 million economic impact on the state.
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