The US Commerce Department has delayed a decision on whether to upgrade Vietnam to market economy status by about a week, due to the IT disruptions from the CrowdStrike software problems.
The designation of Vietnam's market economy status, which could boost the country's exports, is now expected to be announced on August 2, giving stakeholders time to prepare for the upgrade, vnbusiness.vn reported.
This upgrade, which is supported by retailers and business groups, would result in a reduction of anti-dumping duties imposed on Vietnamese imports.
Reuters cited a Commerce Department memorandum dated on Wednesday as saying that: "In light of ongoing disruptions to US Department of Commerce IT resources and platforms deadlines for final determinations in anti-dumping cases would be extended by a total of six days."
A Commerce Department spokesperson said a "small number" of anti-dumping and countervailing duty case filings were disrupted by the recent botched software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike which crashed computer systems worldwide.
"Consistent with Department of Commerce actions taken in response to the disruptions resulting from such incidents, deadline extensions in certain AD/CVD cases have been made. The Vietnam's non-market economy status case is included among these and will be made public by Friday, August 2."
Currently, Vietnam is classified as a non-market economy due to significant state influence.
In September 2023, Vietnam and the US elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership during President Joe Biden's visit. President Biden praised Vietnam's significant progress in implementing market-based economic reforms and expressed eagerness to engage with Vietnam in its transition to a market economy.
The US also acknowledged Vietnam's continued efforts to modernize its monetary policy, enhance transparency in exchange rate management, promote macro-economic stability and ensure the soundness of its banking system.
