Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy (R) receives Marc Evans Knapper, the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, on March 26.
At a working session with Marc Evans Knapper, the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, on March 26, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy mentioned unofficial information that the Ministry received at the end of February 2025 regarding the preliminary ruling from the United States.
Accordingly, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the US did not recognize the equivalency of Vietnam's provincial management of marine mammals according to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
The US data submission portal has been closed since August 2022. Therefore, the preliminary ruling did not fully reflect Vietnam’s latest legal and practical adjustments, he said.
Fisheries in Vietnam are largely classified as small-scale. Full statistics on the implementation of measures applied from 2024 for a short period is a significant challenge for Vietnam. The Minister of Agriculture and Environment proposed the US Ambassador to Vietnam give support in extending the deadline for providing certain MMPA-related data to July 1 instead of April 1.
The enforcement of laws and the fight against illegal fishing are key focuses of President Donald Trump. One of the recent milestones in Vietnam-US relations is the US$12.5 million aid package aimed at supporting Vietnam in enforcing maritime laws and combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
He affirmed that he would make every effort to convey the views of the Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Environment to the relevant authorities during the evaluation process.
NOAA previously required Vietnam to urgently provide evidence and demonstrate progress in implementing a management plan for harvesting practices that align with US regulations by April 1, 2025. If harvesting practices do not meet the requirements from the United States, seafood products originating from those practices will be banned from exporting to the US, starting January 1, 2026.
