The new rule has sparked significant controversy, with the catfish industry claiming that old Food and Drug Administration regulations of imported catfish were too lax and were putting American consumers at risk, while opponents claim the new law is nothing but a trade barrier disguised as a food safety measure that invites trade retaliation.
Even though the new regulation -- which makes catfish the first seafood to be put under the US Department of Agriculture, which is generally more stringent -- has passed and is slated to go into effect in March, there are still several ways the program can be repealed according to Gavin Gibbons of the NFI, and there are ongoing efforts to do so.
"This is not a dead end, it's not over...all of the things we have been fighting against still exist, as does the opposition on Capitol Hill," he said. "The coalition that opposes this program has no plans of letting up in its opposition."
Although Gibbons chose not to disclose specific steps the NFI was taking, he said there are several potential options available to overturn the new catfish rules, including international arbitration through the World Trade Organization (WTO), creating a new repeal bill or tacking the issue onto another bill that would be germane.
"Every option is still on the table, no one has shut down any potential option in terms of working to get rid of this program," he said. “It’s important to note that the coalition remains intact and remains opposed to this program, so the idea that this program is implemented and you just hit the reset button and suggest that this is going to be standard operating procedure from now on, is just inaccurate. People in Washington hate this program, they do not want to be associate with this program.”
Gibbons said that the possibility of retaliatory tariffs against American agriculture, if Vietnam did choose to go ahead with a case against the US through the WTO, has prompted support from advocates outside the seafood industry.
"You see people who have soybean interest, corn interest, beef interest who are involved in this, and not just watching this process but supporting efforts to repeal the program," he said. "This came from the farm bill, and US farmers would be ironically the ones that would pay the price via a WTO option, no one wants to see that."
According to Gibbons, senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, the largest catfish-producing state, has played a powerful role in both passing and maintaining the program.
"Senator Cochran has an enormous amount of power and he uses it disproportionately to maintain this program because he thinks it helps his constituents back home. In opposition to that effort we have a coalition that, by Washington’s standards, is large and bipartisan.”
When the bill was being passed in 2008, Gibbons said, Cochran held the position of chair of Senate Agriculture and he was the one who put the inspection program into the farm bill. He is currently the chair of Senate Appropriation and remains involved in maintaining the program.
“There continues to be opposition in Washington but Cochran insist on protecting this program,” Gibbons said.
Catfish only the beginning
Gibbons also said there is a high possibility that this kind of regulation will not stop at catfish.
In a May 2014 letter from the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries to Ambassador Michael Froman, who leads the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the members said they "have even greater concern that this program will further expand to include other seafood items that [they] export to the United States".
The letter --signed by ambassadors from Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam -- highlighted that the program has been opposed by President Barak Obama and "hundreds of Members of Congress".
The NFI has argued for years that the new regulation is "wasteful and duplicative". Since 2008, the government accountability office has also targeted the new program nine times.
(vasep.com.vn) On November 11, 2026, in Can Tho, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) will organize the Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026) under the theme “Seafood Market Outlook 2027–2029: Opportunities and Headroom for Double-Digit Export Growth.”
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Business leader Do Ngoc Tai, General Director of Tai Kim Anh Seafood Processing Joint Stock Company, was honored by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) with the title “Outstanding Vietnamese Entrepreneur – Thanh Giong Cup 2026” at a ceremony celebrating Vietnam Entrepreneurs’ Day (October 13). The event took place on the evening of October 11, 2026, at the National Convention Center in Hanoi.
(vasep.com.vn) The global tilapia market is becoming increasingly segmented, not only among producing countries but also by product type and destination market. Supply is divided into groups with distinct competitive advantages: large volumes of whole fish and frozen fillets from Asia, high-value fresh fillets from Latin America, and substantial domestic consumption in several major producing countries.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tuna exports to the UK grew in the first eight months of 2026, despite signs of slowing import demand in the market. However, sharp fluctuations in orders, competition from major suppliers, and new traceability requirements are creating challenges for Vietnamese exporters.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam is stepping up efforts to combat illegal fishing, protect marine ecosystems, expand digital monitoring, and develop science-based management to ensure the sea can support communities and the economy for generations to come.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The EU remains a critical market for Vietnamese shrimp; however, purchasing demand and import patterns are undergoing notable changes. According to Vietnam Customs data, as of September 15, 2026, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the EU reached nearly $374 million, down 5% year-over-year and accounting for 10.7% of the country’s total shrimp export value. Meanwhile, the EU’s stotal shrimp imports through July 2026 contracted by 7% in volume, exhibiting divergent trends across Southern Europe, Northwestern Europe and Eastern Europe. These dynamics necessitate that Vietnamese enterprises closely monitor individualized market demand, rather than approaching the EU as a monolithic consumer block.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s exports of surimi and fish cakes remained relatively stable year-over-year compared to 2025. Following a contraction in the initial months, export performance demonstrated improvement from June onward, peaking in August. However, the recovery has been uneven, characterized by divergent trends across major markets: robust growth was recorded in China, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, and Taiwan, whereas export volumes to South Korea, Indonesia, and select European markets contracted.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Pangasius remains one of Dong Thap’s key aquaculture species, with the province focusing on developing an integrated value chain covering seed production, commercial farming, deep processing and by-product utilization. The province is promoting high-tech, circular pangasius farming models featuring reduced water exchange and enhanced biosecurity, aiming to improve production efficiency and strengthen control over raw material quality.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in September 2026 are estimated at US$1.135 billion, up 11.9% year-on-year, bringing total exports in the first nine months of the year to US$9.103 billion, up 11.4%. Behind this double-digit growth, however, increasingly divergent market trends are emerging: China–Hong Kong and ASEAN posted strong growth, while the U.S., EU and Japan all recorded declines in September.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Brazil became the largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, with export value reaching US$44 million, up 22,142% year-on-year and accounting for 49% of Vietnam’s total tilapia exports. In August alone, exports to Brazil reached US$4 million. However, behind this remarkable growth is a market that is imposing increasingly stringent requirements on imported supplies.
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Chịu trách nhiệm: Ông Nguyễn Hoài Nam - Phó Tổng thư ký Hiệp hội
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