Vietnamese authorities have welcomed the US Senate’s approval of a resolution to scrap a new catfish inspection program.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Hai Binh on Tuesday told local media, Vietnam has repeatedly expressed its concern over the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) catfish inspection program which is “costly and unnecessary”.

“We highly appreciate the US Senate’s vote,” Binh said, adding that move reflects new developments of the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership.

“We always endeavour to cooperate with other countries, including the US, to ensure safety and quality of Vietnamese catfish, which has already met international quality and safety standards,” the spokesperson said.

The US Senate voted to scrap the catfish inspection program on May 25.

The program, created by the US Congress in 2008, started in March this year and is scheduled to be phased in over 18 months.

In December last year, US Senators John McCain and Kelly Ayotte introduced a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to nullify the USDA’s catfish inspection program.

Sen. McCain has been arguing that the USDA program is wasteful, duplicative and wasteful.

– TiVi Tuan-san