However, the USDA's proposed rules were delayed repeatedly by the OMB and the White House, as implementing a rule aimed at blocking pangasius imports could have sparked a major trade war with Vietnam, and hurt US meat and agricultural exports. The latest USDA proposed rules, released earlier this year, did not make a final determination as to which species would be covered by an equivalency requirement - that an exporting country have a USDA type continuous inspection system approved.
The political stalemate was broken in the Senate when opponents, led by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ), were strongly supported by a recent GAO report highly critical of the USDA program.
NFI, which has vigorously opposed the USDA's authority to regulate catfish since 2008, issued a statement praising the vote.
"Common sense has prevailed in the Senate. [This] is a return to fiscal sanity at a time when controls on wasteful government spending are much needed. The voice vote passage of the amendment illustrates the Senate's strong desire to fix this problem.
"The bipartisan effort to repeal the program, with supporters from every corner of the country, took into account not only the agricultural trade implications raised by this program but the waste associated with a regulatory approach that sought to spend millions without actually improving food safety."
Basically, the GAO said it was a waste of government resources to move catfish inspection to the USDA and recommended Congress repeal the program.
According to a summary in Food Safety News, the GAO report questions whether the USDA inspection program would improve food safety, pointing out that federal regulators are using "outdated and limited" information in their risk assessment, upon which the inspection program would be based. The GAO notes that, in the risk assessment, FSIS identified just one outbreak of Salmonella, which occurred in 1991, but the incident "was not clearly linked to catfish." This was before the FDA's 1997 HACCP program came into force. According to GAO, no catfish-linked Salmonella outbreaks have happened since. The report also said "Other federal agencies questioned if FSIS (USDA) had adequately demonstrated a Salmonella problem in catfish.” For example, neither FDA nor NMFS have such concerns.
NMFS and other federal agencies have argued that it is more likely that chemical and drug residues in farm raised catfish are potential hazards, but the OMB told FSIS that Salmonella was the most practical hazard to evaluate, because of the strong data on Salmonella-linked deaths and illnesses in the United States, according to the report. There is not data on the health effects, if any, of the small amounts of chemical or drug residues that have been detected in some samples.
In 2002, imported catfish made up around 2 percent of the U.S. market and by 2010 imports accounted for 23 percent of the market, according to GAO. The GAO said that more fragmentation and overlap is not what the federal food safety system needs. On top of the illogical jurisdictional lines it would create, GAO says the move would cost taxpayers more. The program would provide continuous inspections of domestic processing processing and it would require the same for imported catfish, which only makes up 3 percent of imported seafood.
For US catfish plants, it would mean three federal agencies would have overlapping inspection authority in the same plant: FSIS, FDA, and NMFS. USDA estimated it would cost taxpayers $14 million each year. Between 2009 and 2011, the agency spent $15.4 million in the developing the program and is slated to spend $4.4 million more in FY 2012.
A similar repeal amendment has been introduced in the House with bi-partisan support, by Reps. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Jack Kingstom (R-GA).
If the House accepts a similar repeal, the five year uncertainty about catfish imports, and the access of US consumers to farm raised white fish, will no longer be under threat.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 marked a pivotal milestone for Vietnam’s seafood industry in its restructuring process toward sustainability, transparency, and higher value creation, amid continued uncertainties in the global economic and trade environment. Prolonged inflation in major economies, the rising trend of trade protectionism, and increasingly stringent requirements related to environmental standards, traceability, and social responsibility have posed significant challenges to seafood production and exports. Nevertheless, overcoming these pressures, Vietnam’s seafood sector has gradually demonstrated its adaptability, maintained growth momentum, and laid an important foundation for the next stage of development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Amid the increasingly evident impacts of drought and saltwater intrusion, the shrimp-rice production model in Ca Mau province continues to prove itself as a viable direction, contributing to higher farmer incomes, improved soil conditions and the promotion of ecological and sustainable agricultural development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The management of fishing vessels, monitoring of fishing activities, and handling of violations in the fisheries sector in Lam Dong province have continued to be implemented in a synchronized and stringent manner, contributing to raising awareness of legal compliance among fishermen and aiming to end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Can Tho’s fishery industry sustained steady growth in 2025 with total aquatic and marine output reaching nearly 783,000 tons, fulfilling 100% of the annual target. Aquaculture, capture fisheries and fishing fleet management were further strengthened, aiming for sustainable development in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s pangasius export turnover reached nearly USD 2.2 billion, up 8% year-on-year. This result indicates that pangasius exports maintained their growth momentum despite significant volatility in the global market environment. In December 2025, pangasius export value reached USD 200 million, up 10% compared to December 2024. This solid performance in the final month of the year reflects increased import demand for consumption and inventory replenishment in key markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Spain experienced significant fluctuations. According to Vietnam Customs, during the first 11 months of 2025, export turnover for the first 11 months of the year edged up by 0.3% year-on-year, reaching nearly $15 million.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son has signed Decision No. 16/QD-TTg, dated January 5, 2026, approving the implementation plan for the Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA). Under the plan, in the coming period, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated entities and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities must institutionalize and execute tasks focused on the dissemination of information regarding VIFTA and the Israeli market; legislative and institutional development, as well as enhancing competitiveness and human resource growth...
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Beyond achieving double-digit growth, Vietnam’s fish cake and surimi exports are showing a notable year-end "inflection point": the EU his accelerating with nearly twofold growth, China & Hong Kong are rising sharply, while the largest market, South Korea, signaled a slowdown in November. According to Vietnam Customs data, export turnover of fish cake and surimi reached $327 million in the first 11 months of 2025, up 22% year-on-year; November 2025 alone accounted for $35 million, marking a 5% increase. This serves as a critical foundation for exporters to reassess market structures and competitive intensity while finalizing order strategies for 2026.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ca Mau, widely regarded as the nation’s “shrimp capital”, continued its strong performance in 2025 as shrimp output reached nearly 600,000 tons, maintaining its position as Vietnam’s leading shrimp-producing locality.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On December 29, 2025, at the 2025 Pangasius Industry Review Conference held in Can Tho City, the Vietnam Pangasius Association announced that fingerling prices have surged to record levels due to acute supply shortages.
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