Vietnam to slap anti-dumping duties on Chinese, South Korean steel

A chain making color coated steel sheets of a factory in southern Vietnam - Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's news site

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the tariffs will last 120 days starting June 25, at 3.45-34.27 percent for Chinese products and 1.48-19.25 percent for the South Korean ones. The tax rate varies depending on the producers.

The duties are being levied on the advice of the ministry’s Trade Remedies Authority, which had begun investigating the imports of color-coated sheets from the Chinese and South Korean companies last October.

The investigation was launched following a petition from local producers asking authorities to apply anti-dumping measures. It found that Chinese and South Korean producers had broken the self-defense measures in the form of tariff quotas, which permits the import of a certain quantity of a commodity duty-free or at a lower duty rate, while quantities exceeding the quota are subject to a higher duty rate.

They had dumped their products at "quite high margins" of 3.45-34.27 percent on the Vietnamese market, leaving "significant impacts" on the sales, revenue, profits, and market shares of the domestic producers. Since the middle of last year until now, the dumping has inflicted losses on many local steel firms, causing them to down shutters, according to the ministry.

After the temporary period of 120 days, the trade ministry will decide, in October, whether to continue imposing the anti-dumping tariffs on the color-coated sheets produced by the Chinese and South Korean firms.

Before making a final decision, the ministry will also work with related parties, verify data and information and organize public consultations for all stakeholders to express their opinions. The authorities will also assess the overall impact of the case on consumers.

Vietnam imported 13.5 million tons of steel of various types worth $9.9 million last year, down 9.8 percent in volume but 9 percent in value against 2017, said the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

China continued to be the biggest exporter, making up 45 percent of the total volume, down 29 percent over 2017.