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September 16, 2025

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Vietnam warns of $500 million seafood losses as US ban takes effect

3 Mins Read

Vietnam has raised alarm over a new US ruling that could strip the country’s seafood industry of $500 million in annual revenue, threatening thousands of jobs and disrupting bilateral trade.

The ban, which takes effect on 1 January, follows a decision by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to block imports from 12 Vietnamese fisheries for failing to meet requirements under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The ruling casts uncertainty over Vietnam’s exports of tuna, swordfish, grouper, mackerel, and crab, while also complicating broader trade relations between Hanoi and Washington.

US ban on Vietnamese seafood exports from January 2025

NOAA confirmed in August that 12 fisheries in Vietnam had not complied with US marine mammal protection standards. This automatically disqualifies them from exporting to the US market starting from 1 January 2025.

The fisheries include exporters of high-demand species such as tuna and swordfish, which contribute significantly to Vietnam’s seafood trade balance.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers has said the ban could severely damage the country’s reputation in global markets. It warned that the decision risks undermining years of efforts to brand Vietnam as a sustainable fishing nation.

In a letter to members, the association noted that the move “will negatively affect the entire seafood supply chain,” from fishermen to processing plants, and impact Vietnam’s image in marine conservation.

Vietnam appeals to Washington amid trade tensions

Industry and Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien wrote to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, urging reconsideration of the ban.

His letter, published on the government’s official website, highlighted the livelihoods of thousands of Vietnamese fishermen and processing workers at stake.

He also stressed that the ruling would affect US importers and consumers, potentially raising seafood prices.

The appeal comes at a sensitive time in Vietnam-US trade relations. In July, President Donald Trump announced a new trade deal that imposes a 20% tariff on Vietnamese exports to the US and a 40% levy on goods deemed to be transshipped.

The tariff regime came into effect last month, forcing Vietnamese businesses to adjust while awaiting clarity on how enforcement will be carried out.

Partial clearance but compliance gaps remain

NOAA did approve 11 other Vietnamese fisheries, recognising that the country prohibits the intentional killing of marine mammals during commercial fishing. However, the agency’s comparability report found gaps in monitoring.

It stated that “not all vessel size classes are monitored and not all are required to report marine mammal bycatch.” This gap was a key reason behind the restrictions on the remaining 12 fisheries.

For Vietnam, the outcome signals that compliance remains inconsistent across the sector. The government now faces pressure to step up surveillance and introduce stricter reporting systems if it wants to protect its share of the lucrative US seafood market.

Shrimp exports also face scrutiny

Alongside the NOAA ruling, Vietnam is dealing with another trade challenge in the form of an ongoing US administrative review of anti-dumping taxes on shrimp imports.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien has called for a fair outcome for Vietnamese shrimp exporters, who have been hit by tariffs in previous reviews.

A negative decision could add further strain on the seafood industry, which is already dealing with tariffs, compliance disputes, and shifting market dynamics.

The post Vietnam warns of $500 million seafood losses as US ban takes effect appeared first on Invezz

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In World news

Angkor Resources: Unlocking Cambodia’s Resource Potential through Energy and Minerals Assets

2 Mins Read

Founded in 2009 and listed in 2011, Angkor Resources (TSXV:ANK,OTCQB:ANKOF) has developed a dual focus on energy and minerals across Asia and North America.

Angkor Resources is advancing a dual-track strategy across energy and minerals. In Canada, its subsidiary EnerCam Exploration generates revenue from oil production, water disposal, and gas processing, while also pioneering carbon capture and conversion solutions.

In Cambodia, subsidiary EnerCam Resources is driving the nation’s first-ever onshore oil and gas exploration on Block VIII, positioning the company for transformational growth. On the mineral side, Angkor is a first-mover in Cambodia’s underexplored belts, with licenses at Andong Meas and Andong Bor targeting both precious and base metals, where exploration has already confirmed copper porphyry systems and high-grade gold mineralization.

Angkor mitigates risk by diversifying revenue, combining recurring Canadian cash flow with high-impact exploration in Cambodia, where management prioritizes hydrocarbons and copper, highlighting 25 million recoverable barrels and significant copper-gold potential.

Company Highlights

  • Diversified Energy & Mineral Portfolio: Exposure to high-impact oil and gas exploration in Cambodia (Block VIII), recurring energy revenues in Canada, and copper-gold porphyry systems with gold epithermal near-surface prospects in Cambodia.
  • Near-term Catalysts:
    • Results from copper porphyry in Cambodia within 30 to 60 days;
    • Seismic completion and interpretation for drill targets on Block VIII within 90 days; and
    • Acquisition of oil production for increased recurring revenue streams.
  • Transformational Asset: Block VIII is Cambodia’s first onshore oil and gas exploration license, strategically located near export infrastructure. Potential minimum targets estimated at 25 to 50+ million recoverable barrels.
  • Revenue-backed Model: EnerCam Canada provides recurring revenue streams via oil production, water disposal, gas processing, and carbon capture solutions, insulating Angkor from over-reliance on equity markets.
  • Strong ESG Commitment: Recognized at the United Nations for sustainability, Angkor integrates carbon capture, community partnerships and environmental responsibility into every project.
  • Aligned Shareholder Base: Over 40 percent insider ownership with regular insider buying, demonstrating management’s confidence in long-term growth.

This Angkor Resources profile is part of a paid investor education campaign.*

Click here to connect with Angkor Resources (TSXV:ANK) to receive an Investor Presentation

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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In Business

Trump administration ramps up pressure on Labor Department with data probe

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The Labor Department has announced an inquiry into the Bureau of Labor Statistics over recent changes to its data practices.

In a letter published Wednesday, the office of the inspector general for the Labor Department cited the BLS’ recent decision to reduce data collection activities for two key inflation reports, as well as the large downward revision in employment estimates it announced Tuesday. It said it is reviewing the ‘challenges’ the agency has faced ‘in collecting and reporting closely watched economic data.’

The probe comes one month after President Donald Trump fired the head of the BLS as part of a broader pressure campaign that critics say has risked politicizing a part of the government that has long played a crucial role in the business world. The BLS, which is tasked with collecting data on economic indicators such as jobs and inflation, had generally been left alone by previous administrations.

But Trump began zeroing in on the BLS as his frustrations with the Federal Reserve mounted, coinciding with economic numbers that started to warn about a broader U.S. slowdown.

Since then, the labor market has slowed considerably. Just before the head of the BLS was fired, the department released a weaker-than-expected jobs report, citing claims of data manipulation that critics say are unfounded.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, another frequent target of Trump’s, has said Fed policymakers are ‘getting the data that we need to do our jobs’ and stressed the importance of the federal statistical agencies.

‘The government data is really the gold standard in data,’ he added. ‘We need it to be good and to be able to rely on it.’

Trump then nominated E.J. Antoni, an economist with the far-right Heritage Foundation, as the new head of the BLS, a move many economists have criticized.

Trump and other BLS critics have focused on the department’s revisions to its reports, a practice that dates back decades and has been generally seen as a necessary part of the challenge of collecting near-term economic data. It has also faced other challenges in data collection, including budget challenges and low response rates to its collection efforts.

The BLS previously said the decision to reduce inflation data surveys was necessary given existing budget constraints. Meanwhile, mainstream economists say the latest downward revisions — while large — are part of a routine annual process known as benchmarking.

While response rates to the bureau’s surveys have been declining, researchers recently found that revisions and falling response rates did not reduce the reliability of the jobs and inflation reports.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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In Politics

Manchin says he wanted GOP to win Senate to stop Democrats’ quest for ‘raw political power’

4 Mins Read

Former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., wanted Republicans to win the Senate last year in order to prevent Democrats’ pursuit of ‘raw political power.’

In his new book, ‘Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense,’ set to be released on Tuesday and obtained by Fox News Digital, the former West Virginia Democrat-turned-Independent ripped into his ex-political party, tore into former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and blasted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., while lauding the relationship that he had with President Donald Trump.

Manchin made waves when he and former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who also left the Democratic Party to become an Independent, bucked Schumer and voted against the move to nuke the Senate filibuster in 2022.

He recalled that vote in his book and the pressure he felt from Schumer and Senate Democrats to fall in line on that and other key votes during Biden’s presidency.

Manchin accused Schumer of wanting a vote he ‘could broadcast to the radical left to prove his loyalty’ and said the then-Senate majority leader didn’t actually believe that getting rid of the filibuster was the right thing to do, but rather to fulfill his ‘only priority’ of maintaining control of the Senate.

‘Because of what I knew — and what I had seen firsthand — I wanted Republicans to win the Senate majority in 2024,’ Manchin wrote. ‘I believed it was the only hope for preserving the Senate as an institution. I truly believed that, if in power, Republicans would uphold the filibuster, the last guardrail preventing total partisan rule.’

‘Schumer and the Democrats had already shown their hand — eliminating the filibuster would have been their first order of business,’ he continued. ‘They had no interest in protecting the Senate’s role as the deliberative body. They only cared about raw political power.’

The quest to end the filibuster is also why Manchin wouldn’t endorse former Vice President Kamala Harris in her run against Trump.

‘She knew this was the Holy Grail and the only hope we have to preserve any bipartisanship and maintain our democracy,’ Manchin said.

He also outlined an early fight he had with Biden where, when Democrats were trying to ram through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan in the early months of his presidency in an evenly-divided Senate, Manchin rejected it.

Biden ripped into Manchin for standing in the way of an early victory.

‘As the drama began, I got a call from the president, and was he hot,’ Manchin wrote. ”If you kill this f— bill, I will never speak to you again,’ he promised. Anyone who knows Joe Biden —­ and I have known him for a very long time —­knows he’s got a very bad temper. He calls it his ‘Irish.’ I call it unfortunate. But if he was going there, so was I.’

”Your actions are reckless,’ I spat back. ‘You’re sending a f—­ check to everyone. And if you missed anyone, it was only by mistake.’’

The legislation ultimately passed after a compromise was reached, but Manchin noted that he later regretted ‘capitulating on the American Rescue Plan.’

He also described having a far better relationship with Trump, who he considered a fellow ‘outsider,’ than Obama, and noted that Obama reached out to him twice during his entire presidency: once after he won re-election to the Senate in 2012 and again in 2015 to persuade him from voting against his nuclear deal with Iran.

‘From the start, President Trump had an open line of communication with me. I spoke to him more in the first two years of his presidency than I did to President Obama during all eight years of his time in office,’ Manchin said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Schumer, Obama and Biden for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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