On Friday, December 14 NAEGA hosted a delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture headed by Vice-Minister Hà Công Tuấn. Participants included the U.S. Soybean Export Council, the U.S. Grains Council and U.S. Wheat Associates. During the meeting, Vietnamese Plant Protection Department (PPD) reported on its intentions for implementation on January 1, 2018 of a re-export requirement if Canadian thistle (Cirsium arvense) is found at import in soybean, corn and wheat. Ultimately, the Vietnamese officials indicated they will not take action on U.S. shipments discovered to contain Canadian thistle until after planned consultations with the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on January 14, 2019.
NAEGA is working closely with industry stakeholders and the Office of the USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs to follow up on the meeting. We will focus on securing sound and least trade distortive practices on behalf of both PPD and APHIS to address all their respective actions. The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture has asked that we provide additional information about the U.S. export system and mitigation efforts regarding Canadian thistle.