By the end of May this year, Vietnamese exported products have had to face 83 cases of anti-dumping, 30 cases of safeguard, 19 cases of anti-dumping duty evasion and 14 cases of anti-subsidy.
The US remained the market with highest number of launched investigations, accounting for 19 percent of total cases, followed by Turkey with 14 percent, India with 12 percent and the EU with 10 percent. Products that were investigated include steel, iron, fiber, household appliances and electronic devices.
Noticeably, Vietnamese exported steel products accounted for up to 31 percent of total trade remedies investigations, much higher than fiber with 9 percent and footwear with 6 percent. Most of the cases came to the conclusion that trade remedies evasion exist then trade remedies were applied.
According to the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, some other Vietnamese exported products are also on the verge of being investigated, such as exported plywood to the US and tires to the EU.
It is worrisome that many Vietnamese firms have not fully understood regulations about trade remedies and have not timely and effectively dealt with investigations. Therefore, in order to minimize the risk of being sued, Vietnamese enterprises should equip basic knowledge of trade remedies law. At the same time, they should actively update and exchange information with associations and authorities to receive early warnings, hereby adjust suitable business strategies.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has increased investigation and application of trade remedies to protect domestic production rationally and in accordance with regulations by WTO and international commitments. Especially, amid complicated developments of the trade war between the US and China, efforts to prevent trade remedies evasion and origin fraud on goods being imported to Vietnam have become more urgent than ever.
From 2016 up to now, Vietnam has applied trade remedies on DAP fertilizers, monosodium glutamate (MSG), steel ingot, long steel, galvanized steel, shape steel and color coated steel sheet. These measures have helped to protect domestic production and lessened dependence on imported products.
Amid the current context, application of trade remedies has become more important to prevent foreign products from using Vietnamese origin for export. Vietnamese products will be involved in misfortune and face several difficulties when being investigated if the Government does not control closely enough.
