The Farm Bill sets the United States’ nutrition and agriculture policy for the next five years, and, on Thursday, the Senate voted to advance its version of the bill, initiating about two weeks of debate on the Senate floor.
The previous Farm Bill, enacted in 2008, included a provision that gave the USDA the authority to inspect imported and domestic catfish. However, implementation of the measure has been delayed, even though the rule-making process and the public-comment period have come and gone.
The 2012 Farm Bill would override the 2008 Farm Bill, so if the McCain-Kerry amendment survives, the FDA, the agency responsible for monitoring the U.S. food supply, would retain the authority to inspect catfish.
It appears that support for doing so is only building. In late April, 17 U.S. senators, including McCain and Kerry, signed a letter to Debbie Stabenow, chair of the senate’s Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, urging her to repeal the USDA catfish inspection program. They agrued that the program would “simply supplant the existing FDA [Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points] seafood regulatory scheme.” They also cited two Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports calling the program redundant and duplicative; the program is expected to cost USD 30 million to implement, according to the GAO.
“Cost cutters on the Hill who have been looking to root out waste and protect American jobs have thrown down the gauntlet with this,” said National Fisheries Institute spokesman Gavin Gibbons. “McCain and Kerry are leading a bipartisan effort that says if you support programs that waste tens of millions in taxpayer dollars, if you support programs that will negatively impact U.S. agricultural exports, if you support regulatory programs that have no food-safety benefit, then you support the [USDA] catfish inspection program. If you’re sick of wasteful handouts, you support repeal. It’s a fairly cut and dry scenario.”
The McCain-Kerry amendment comes as a relief to U.S. catfish and pangasius importers, who say the USDA catfish inspection program would curb the flow of product into the U.S. market (it’s still unclear whether the catfish-like pangasius would be included in the program). They also contend that its supporters are simply trying to protect the domestic catfish farming and processing industry, not safeguard public health.
At the same time, U.S. catfish farmers and processors argue that their competitors overseas should be subject to the same scrutiny as they are when it comes to food safety. The USDA catfish inspection program has the backing of The Catfish Institute and several Southern legislators.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On July 9, 2026, the Embassy of Vietnam in Brazil organized the seminar titled “Sharing Information on Vietnam-Brazil Economic, Trade and Investment Relations in the First Half of 2026” to provide updates on bilateral cooperation and strengthen connections among government agencies, industry associations, and business communities of the two countries.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Seafood exports in the first 6 months of the year continued to be a bright spot with a total turnover of 5.7 billion USD, an increase of 11.4% compared to the same period last year. By commodity group, seafood is one of the three groups with a trade balance in the first 6 months of 2026 in a surplus state with 4.13 billion USD, an increase of 17%.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) For many years, Vietnam’s seafood industry has been recognized as one of the country’s key export pillars. Products such as shrimp, pangasius, tuna, squid, octopus, and a wide range of other seafood have reached hundreds of markets worldwide. Yet behind these impressive export figures lies a significant challenge: a substantial share of Vietnam’s seafood export value still comes from minimally processed products, contract manufacturing, and raw material exports—segments characterized by low profit margins and high vulnerability to fluctuations in global prices.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the context of a global economy shifting powerfully toward green and sustainable values, Vietfish 2026 is far more than just a commercial trade fair. It has become a strategic rendezvous and a "comprehensive ecosystem"—a convergence of value, knowledge, and sustainable growth opportunities for the entire industry chain.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports to Colombia continued their strong upward momentum in May 2026. Export value to the market reached USD 4 million, up 24% compared to the same month in 2025. Cumulative exports in the first five months of 2026 totaled USD 24 million, an impressive 48% increase year-on-year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Hai Phong's aquaculture sector is accelerating the adoption of high technologies in aquaculture to adapt to climate change, with red tilapia and tilapia identified as the key cultured species for priority development.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached nearly US$1.1 billion in June 2026, up 21.0% year-on-year. Cumulative exports in the first half of 2026 totaled nearly US$5.8 billion, representing a 12.8% increase compared with the same period last year. Exports to China and Hong Kong continued to accelerate, while shipments to the United States rebounded strongly in June. In contrast, exports to the EU, Japan, and the Middle East remained sluggish or recorded slight declines.
(vasep.com.vn) Tilapia is playing an increasingly important role in Vietnam’s aquaculture sector, driven not only by growing market opportunities but also by its ability to meet increasingly stringent requirements on quality, food safety, and traceability. In practice, tilapia farming in Vietnam is not a spontaneous or loosely regulated activity; rather, it operates under a comprehensive legal and technical framework covering the entire value chain—from hatcheries and farming to processing and exports.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached USD 1.9 billion in the first five months of 2026, up 12% compared with the same period last year. Amid continued volatility in the global seafood market, this result demonstrates that the shrimp sector has maintained positive growth momentum, supported by improving demand in several Asian markets, particularly China.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On June 16, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ca Mau Province announced that the locality has established a farming area code for nearly 30,400 hectares of mud crab aquaculture and granted export facility codes to five enterprises eligible to export mud crab officially to markets such as China, Cambodia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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