The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) have signed a bilateral agreement on January 17  in Washington, D.C., addressing the anti-dumping duty order on Vietnamese fish fillets. 

This development marks a key resolution in the ongoing trade dispute between the two nations.

Vietnam initially filed a lawsuit against the United States on January 8, 2018, alleging that the US violated World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations by imposing anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese pangasius and basa fish products (case DS536).

In 2020, following the WTO Panel's draft ruling, the US proposed postponing the final report to negotiate a bilateral solution with Vietnam.

The new agreement concluded the disputes in case DS536 at the WTO.

Under the terms of the agreement, Vinh Hoan Corporation, a leading exporter of pangasius and basa fish from Vietnam, is exempt from anti-dumping duties on its pangasius and basa fish exported to the US.  Vinh Hoan is notably the only company from Vietnam that meets US regulations for tariff removal.

This marks the second instance of Vietnam and the United States reaching a bilateral agreement to resolve a WTO dispute. The first occurred in 2016, when the two countries agreed to remove anti-dumping duties on warm-water shrimp exported by Minh Phu Seafood Corporation (case DS429).