Vietnam on Tuesday requested consultations with the U.S. over the Agriculture Department's catfish inspection regime, claiming it is in breach of U.S. World Trade Organization commitments in part due to a process that Vietnam claims leads to a "disguised restriction on international trade." Vietnam has taken issue with the U.S. catfish inspection program since jurisdiction over catfish inspections was moved to USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service from the Food and Drug Administration; that move was mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill and the transition period for the change concluded in September 2017. The change in jurisdictions implied stricter regulations for catfish importers.
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