Vietnam Announces New Import Regulations; Further Details Being Sought
Vietnam Announces New Import Regulations; Further Details, Deadline Extension Being Sought
The government of Vietnam has issued a notice to USDA indicating that Vietnam is making a unilateral change to its import regulations regarding non-processed products - including fresh and frozen pork, beef, poultry, and seafood. As part of these changes, Vietnam has requested that the U.S. government provide: 1.) a list of establishments eligible to export to Vietnam, 2.) detailed information about the U.S. food safety system, and 3.) registration by each individual company that wishes to export to Vietnam, including a list of products exported and examples from the establishments’ HACCP plans.
The notification states that Vietnam will begin enforcing these regulations on shipments arriving July 1, 2010.
USMEF is very much aware that this implementation date is unreasonable, and that many products have already been shipped to Vietnam that will not land until after this deadline. In addition, the request was not properly notified to the WTO and there are many details that are not acceptable to the U.S. government or industry. A very strong push is being made for an extension of the announced implementation date so that all parties may have an opportunity to work on a more acceptable solution.
USMEF will provide updates as more information becomes available. If you have questions, please contact Kevin Smith at ksmith@usmef.org or 303-623-6328.
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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry. It is funded by USDA; the beef, pork, lamb, corn and soybean checkoff programs, as well as its members representing nine industry sectors: beef/veal producing & feeding, pork producing & feeding, lamb producing & feeding, packing & processing, purveying & trading, oilseeds producing, feedgrains producing, farm organizations and supply & service organizations.
USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.