According to a press release from the Foreign Agriculture Service, Vietnamese government officials announced Nov. 15 that its Most Favored Nation tariff rates are being revised, resulting in the reduction of import taxes on corn, wheat, and pork.
The Vietnamese government issued a decree that eliminated the most-favored nation (MFN) tariff on all wheat. "U.S. wheat exports to Vietnam's growing market are much slower so far this year because of short supplies and rising prices, so eliminating this tariff is very important for growers like me," Darren Padget, USW chairman and a soft-white wheat grower from Grass Valley, Ore., told Farm Progress
The decree also lowered the duty on corn from 5% to 2% and the duty on frozen pork from 15% to 10%.
"This is great news for U.S. products as it levels the playing field with our competitors from the Black Sea and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members." U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Ryan LeGrand told Farm Progress. "The Council's work in Vietnam, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service, has helped make this happen. We thank the Vietnamese government for taking these important steps to make trade freer and fairer there."
The decree will go into effect for wheat and corn on Dec. 30 and for pork on July 1. National Pork Producers Council Assistant Vice President of International Affairs Maria Zieba said in December 2020 that if the pork import tariffs were not reduced by the Vietnamese government, then it could have led to U.S. hog farmers retaliating on U.S. pork imports.
