The United States’ plan to impose an anti-dumping tariff of up to 400 percent against imported Vietnamese raw honey products would create very negative impacts on Vietnam’s beekeeping industry, of which the U.S. has been the prime import market, said spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang.

Answering reporters’ questions on Vietnam’s reaction to the plan at a regular press briefing on Thursday, Hang said it would adversely influence the Southeast Asian country’s agriculture and cultivation as a whole, as artificially kept bees also contribute to the pollination of crops.

This will certainly have a direct impact on the livelihoods and employment of many beekeeping and farming families in Vietnam, particularly those in the southern region and the Central Highlands, Hang stressed.

She said that Vietnam always looks forward to promoting the comprehensive partnership with the U.S., especially in terms of trade and business, which should be geared more toward greater balance, mutual benefits, and sustainability.

The spokeswoman added that Vietnam is ready to have discussions with the U.S. through existing mechanisms such as the trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA) in order to further promote economic interests as well as trade and bilateral investment relations, and to address any issues that may arise.

“The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam are actively working with U.S. counterparts at different levels to address the matter," Hang underlined.

"We call upon the U.S. to make sure that any measure they impose in this matter must be based on the spirit of objectivity, fairness, and in line with the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s regulations, and avoid causing undue damage to Vietnamese beekeepers and beekeeping businesses."

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the preliminary anti-dumping tax rate for Vietnamese honey exports to the U.S. at the end of November 2021. 

Accordingly, the general tax rate applicable to all Vietnamese honey exporters is 412.49 percent, more than double the rate of 207 percent that the American Honey Producers Association originally proposed.

Along with Vietnam, four other countries, namely Brazil, India, Ukraine, and Argentina, are also subject to the U.S. honey export tax, with the tariff announced for Vietnamese honey being the heftiest.

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