Workshop on “Vietnam’s Fisheries Sector – Capacity to Adapt to Market Volatility and Global Trade Remedy Regulations” Held in Ho Chi Minh City

On the morning of 28 November 2025, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), in coordination with the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) Electronic Newspaper, organized a workshop entitled “Vietnam’s Fisheries Sector – Capacity to Adapt to Market Volatility and Global Trade Remedy Regulations.”

At the workshop, Ms. Tran Thuy Que Phuong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said that the fisheries sector has recorded impressive results. In particular, in the production sector, during the first ten months of the year, total fisheries output exceeded 8 million tonnes, representing an increase of 3.1%. Of this, fish output exceeded 5.7 million tonnes, while shrimp output surpassed 1.2 million tonnes.

Seafood export turnover reached USD 9.5 billion, up 16% year-on-year, with October recording the highest monthly figure since the beginning of the year. For the full year 2025, seafood exports are expected to reach USD 11 billion. By product category, shrimp continued to lead with export revenue of USD 3.9 billion, followed by pangasius at USD 1.8 billion.

However, the market outlook also presents a number of challenges. Although China remains the largest market, competition has become increasingly intense. In the United States, despite growing import demand, Vietnamese enterprises face tariff barriers and risks arising from the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Meanwhile, Japan has been affected by the weak yen, the European Union (EU) continues to be constrained by the “yellow card” imposed under the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing regime, while purchasing demand in the Republic of Korea has recovered slowly.

According to the VASEP representative, although opportunities arising from free trade agreements (FTAs), such as the EVFTA and CPTPP, as well as the growing consumer preference for convenient products, are expanding, significant challenges remain. These include unpredictable reciprocal tariffs, anti-dumping duties, rising raw material and logistics costs, and intense competition from numerous countries.

Against this backdrop, VASEP recommended that the Government and relevant ministries and agencies accelerate efforts to have the IUU “yellow card” removed and strengthen high-level dialogue to demonstrate compliance with MMPA requirements before the 1 January 2026 deadline. At the same time, mechanisms are needed to support enterprises in dealing with the situation of “taxes upon taxes”, particularly through support for working capital, reduction of cold-chain logistics costs, and promotion of trade activities. Ms. Tran Thuy Que Phuong also emphasized the need to establish a dedicated early-warning system for trade remedies.

Providing a deeper analysis of the legal barriers, Ms. Nguyen Hang Nga, Deputy Head of the Foreign Trade Remedies Investigation Division under the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (MOIT), highlighted a number of concerning figures. As of November 2025, Vietnamese goods had faced 298 trade remedy investigations, representing a substantial increase compared with the period prior to 2010.

In the U.S. market, pangasius and shrimp have repeatedly been subject to trade remedy scrutiny. Investigations and related proceedings often last for extended periods, sometimes up to three years, creating concerns among importers and causing orders to decline immediately. In particular, as the United States has not recognized Vietnam as a market economy, Vietnamese seafood products may face disadvantageous duty treatment. Mexico, Canada and Brazil may also apply non-market economy methodologies in individual proceedings.

Ms. Nga noted that a key factor behind this situation is the rapid growth in Vietnam’s export turnover following the entry into force of 17 FTAs, which has increased pressure on domestic industries in importing countries. In addition, trade conflicts and the global trend toward protectionism have led to more frequent use of trade remedy instruments.

To respond to these challenges, enterprises need to proactively monitor market signals, increase transparency in production data, standardize traceability procedures, diversify their markets, and seek new export markets in order to expand export turnover.

“Particularly amid the difficulties faced when accessing key markets, enterprises need to strengthen their capacity to manage raw-material traceability in order to avoid disadvantages if they become potentially involved in anti-circumvention or tax evasion investigations. Most importantly, enterprises must not facilitate acts of origin fraud or circumvention of trade remedies, so as to avoid emerging risks in the future,” Ms. Nguyen Hang Nga emphasized.

Concluding the workshop, Mr. Luong Hoang Thai, Director General of the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam, emphasized the need to build a comprehensive “trade remedies ecosystem.” Such an ecosystem should include local authorities providing early data; industry associations bringing enterprises together and coordinating support; internationally capable consultants and lawyers; and State agencies serving as focal points for consolidating information and coordinating negotiations and responses.

“Enterprises cannot be left to fight alone. We need an ecosystem and a network to provide targeted support, prioritizing enterprises with potential, determination and the capacity to grow,” Mr. Luong Hoang Thai said.

The approach to support should also change: rather than being spread thinly under an equal-allocation model, support should focus on effective models capable of generating spillover effects across the entire sector. In practice, many Vietnamese seafood enterprises have overcome their most difficult periods and grown into major brands. This demonstrates that, with appropriate support and collective efforts from the wider business community, Vietnamese enterprises can fully achieve breakthroughs.

According to Mr. Luong Hoang Thai, the workshop was an important forum for enterprises to update information, identify emerging risks in major markets, and share experience in handling trade-related situations.

Amid unpredictable global trade risks, the proactive engagement of government authorities, together with stronger linkages among the State, enterprises and industry associations, is expected to strengthen the fisheries sector’s resilience, sustain its growth momentum, and contribute to achieving the target of USD 11 billion in seafood exports this year.