Vietnam has formally requested that the United States reconsider a recent regulatory decision that could see the introduction of a ban on certain Vietnamese seafood products entering the American market from next year—a move that may further challenge an economy already confronting steep US tariffs.
On September 15, Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Hong Dien, sent a letter to the U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, urging him to review the August decision by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, NOAA concluded last month that several Vietnamese fishing practices present risks to marine mammals.
The U.S. remains a critical market for Vietnam’s seafood industry, accounting for 17.3% of the country’s total seafood exports. From January to August, Vietnamese shipments of seafood to the US rose 6.9% year-over-year to $1.2 billion, customs data show.
NOAA formally notified Vietnam’s agriculture ministry that it declined to provide a “comparability finding”—a necessary compliance measure under the Marine Mammal Protection Act—for 12 Vietnamese fishing techniques. The notification, issued in August, makes clear that fisheries denied a comparability finding will be prohibited from shipping those products to the U.S. starting January 1, 2026.
The Vietnamese ministry warned the ban could severely impact vital seafood exports such as tuna, swordfish, grouper, mackerel, mullet, crab, and squid.
Minister Dien stated in his letter that overturning the NOAA decision would help prevent major disturbances to bilateral trade and safeguard the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese fishermen and workers.
The request comes as Vietnam faces other U.S. trade restrictions. On August 7, the US imposed a 20% tariff on Vietnamese exports, while goods transshipped through Vietnam from third countries are subject to a 40% levy. Customs data show that Vietnam’s exports to the U.S. in August fell 2% from July to $13.9 billion.
In his letter, Dien emphasized the significance of bilateral ties, affirming, Vietnam views the United States as a key trading partner and remains committed to cooperating closely with the U.S. to address outstanding issues in a constructive and forward-looking manner.
Vietnam has faced similar international scrutiny in the past. In 2017, the European Commission issued a “yellow card” to Vietnam for insufficient action against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which subsequently led to a decline in Vietnamese seafood exports to the EU.
