A beekeeping business in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu, southern Việt Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has strongly protested the US Department of Commerce's plan to impose an anti-dumping tariff of up to 400 per cent against imported Vietnamese raw honey products.

In a regular press conference held on Thursday, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng said Việt Nam always looks forward to promoting the comprehensive partnership with the US, especially in terms of trade and business, which should be geared more towards greater balance, mutual benefits, and sustainability, she said.

The official added that Việt Nam stands ready to and is regularly discussing with the US through existing mechanisms such as the trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA) in order to further promote economic interests and trade relations and bilateral investment relations, and to address any issues that may arise, contributing to the advancement of Việt Nam-US ties as well as the interests of the two peoples.

The antidumping tax would have “very negative impacts on the beekeeping industry, of which the US has been the prime import market,” she remarked, adding that it would also adversely impact Việt Nam’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 Việt Nam, particularly those in the southern region and the Central Highlands, Hằng said.

“As far as I’m concerned, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Việt Nam are actively working with US counterparts at different levels to address the matter, and we call upon the US 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 spokesperson stressed.

With regards to Việt Nam being mentioned as one of the “leading regional partners” with which the Biden-Harris administration wants to strengthen relations in their recently released Indo-Pacific Strategy (on February 11, 2022), Hằng said Việt Nam hopes all cooperative initiatives in the Indo-Pacific would contribute to peace, stability, and development in the region.

They would also need to respect international law, and the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, and ensure ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture.

Việt Nam seeks to promote relations with the US as well as all other partners to step up COVID-19 efforts, foster economic recovery, climate change response, and multiple other areas, to ensure peace and prosperity in the region. — VNS