Steel companies must improve their defence capabilities

DNHN - According to the Trade Remedies Administration, to export iron and steel goods steadily and sustainably in the future, the Trade Remedies Department will continue to collaborate with relevant units to complete and successfully run the trade remedy early warning system.

According to statistics from the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), there were 68 cases of foreign lawsuits against Vietnam's steel exports from 2004 to 7/2022 this year, including 38 cases of anti-dumping lawsuits, 3 cases of anti-subsidy lawsuits, 6 cases of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy lawsuits, 13 cases of investigation and application of safeguard measures, and 8 cases of anti-tax evasion.

Last July, the steel sector got two continuous appeal cases. On July 29, 2022, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) launched an inquiry for trade remedy evasion involving a variety of steel pipe items imported from Vietnam, mostly under HS codes 7306.61 and 7306.30. Previously, on July 28, 2022, the Mexican Ministry of Economy issued an official gazette notice to begin an anti-dumping inquiry into cold-rolled steel imported from Vietnam based on a complaint lodged by the domestic sector.

A representative of VSA said that currently, Vietnamese steel products are not only present in the traditional market of Southeast Asian countries, but also expanded to more than dozens of countries and territories around the globe with markets such as: As a result, the rapid increase in steel export turnover has attracted the attention of many countries and increased investigations into the application of trade remedies.

According to the Trade Remedies Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), besides the EU, the US is a potential export market for Vietnamese steel enterprises. However, the increase in export output means that domestic steel products have to face more defensive investigations from this market.

Mr Le Trieu Dung, Director of the Trade Remedies Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that the tradition of being sued for steel products is not new in recent years. The reason is that all countries have policies to develop the domestic manufacturing industry while steel is the basic industry. Steel is also an input of many different industries, so when filing a lawsuit, imposing taxes on steel products means indirectly protecting the downstream industry.

The Vietnam Steel Association believes that to ensure their legitimate interests, enterprises producing and exporting steel products if they are subject to defensive lawsuits, need to continue to study and master the regulations and procedures. The continuing investigation against tax avoidance of countries; properly and fully comply with the requirements of the investigating agency; closely coordinate with the Trade Remedies Department throughout the course of the case. Answering the questions is mandatory if businesses do not want to be subject to the non-cooperative tax.

To implement Decision No. 316/QD-TTg approving the Scheme for effective construction and operation of an early warning system on trade remedies, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has exported 36 items and issued a list of warnings. including 11 items of items being monitored for ministries, sectors, localities, associations and enterprises to implement specific activities.

Accordingly, thanks to early warning, ministries, branches, localities and steel enterprises have been more proactive in responding to foreign trade remedies. According to statistics from VSA, as of July 2022, Vietnam has initiated investigations into 9 trade remedy cases related to steel products imported into Vietnam.

In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has also completed the legal framework so that enterprises can use defence tools more easily to protect domestic production; capacity building for trade defence personnel in state management agencies from central to local levels; maintain trade remedy early warnings.

The Trade Remedies Administration said that in the coming time, to export iron and steel products stably and sustainably, the Trade Remedies Department will continue to coordinate with relevant units to complete and effectively operate the system. trade remedy early warning system.

At the same time, it is recommended that exporters should always closely monitor information, regularly exchange with their importing partners to capture early information about the possibility of being sued and mobilize early so that the investigating agency does not initiate the investigation.

PV