(VOVworld) - US Senators John McCain and John Kerry have voiced opposition to the Farm Bill 2008 and the transmission of catfish supervision from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). In a speech yesterday at the US Senate, McCain said the USDA is tasked with supervising meat, eggs, and poultry instead of seafood. He added that US catfish farmers require a censor agent to ensure only qualified products reach consumers but in fact the USFDA has already taken responsibility for this issue. McCain underscored the office goal:

“The catfish office offers none of food safety benefit. In fact, its true goal is to erect trade barrier on Asian catfish imports to protect domestic catfish industry and make American consumers pay more.”

The Farm Bill 2002 stated that it is illegal to list Vietnam’s tra and basa fish as US catfish, said McCain. At that time, the US had just resumed trade ties with Vietnam, which made US catfish from southern states compete with imported products at competitive prices. The senator was critical: “Ironically, US catfish farmers are lobbying USDA to re-label Vietnamese pangasius back to catfish to ensure Asian imports a subject to this new catfish office.”

According to Senator John Kerry, the establishment of  an supervision office for imported Asian tra and basa fish will not serve the public interest as it will cause higher prices, overlapped procedures, and even commercial retaliation which will push the US into a chain of management conflicts. Kerry called for letting US consumers themselves choose products of their favor.