Tất cả bài viết

The European Union (EU) and the United States are collaborating to establish a common customs area to impose tariffs on steel products imported from China into the EU and the United States. Consequently, steel products imported from China will be subjected to a 25% tariff.Reasons Behind Imposing Tariffs on Chinese Steel ProductsThe United States and the EU have imposed safeguard tariffs on certain steel products imported from China, with the aim of directly addressing unfair pricing and countering illegal subsidies. However, these policies may change over time and depend on fluctuations in the trade and political relationships between nations. This is a significant step in strengthening the trade relationship between the two largest economic regions in the world. The initiative was proposed by the European Commission in the context of countries working to protect domestic production and improve international trade rules.This decision is aimed at creating a common customs area between the EU and the United States, where both parties will cooperate to establish uniform tariffs on steel imported from external economies. Presently, within countries in the EU and the United States, steel products imported from China and other nations have exerted pressure on the domestic steel market and manufacturing industries. These challenges have led the EU and the United States to seek solutions together to ensure that international trade takes place fairly and to protect domestic production. Therefore, in order to help safeguard steel production in the EU and the United States from the challenges posed by unfair competition and the increased import of cheap steel products, the US and EU have imposed a 25% tariff on certain steel products imported from China.The challenges that will have to be facedWhile there are many benefits, creating a common customs area also presents various challenges.First, there must be agreement between the EU and the United States on how to determine and apply uniform tariffs on steel products imported from China. Both sides may have their own trade regulations and rules, so coordinating and ensuring consistency is a significant challenge.Secondly, there may be reactions and objections from third-party economies, such as China, affected by the imposition of uniform tariffs. This could lead to larger trade negotiations and disputes.From China's perspective, being subjected to tariffs on steel products imported from China by the EU and the US will lead to a reduction in export volumes and decreased sales for Chinese steel manufacturers. The decline in sales and profits may impact the supply chain and labor force within China's steel industry, potentially leading to unemployment and hardships for the workforce. Additionally, the imposition of additional tariffs can raise the production costs of steel in China, thereby putting pressure on the profitability of steel producers.In general, the cooperation between the EU and the United States in establishing a common customs area for steel products imported from China has the potential to benefit both economies, safeguard domestic manufacturing industries, and ensure more equitable international trade. This not only promotes collaborative efforts in various other aspects of EU-US trade relations but also contributes to the overall development of the global steel industry. 

On June 28, 2023, the UK continued to maintain anti-dumping measures on heavy plate steel imported from China. This decision was made after the government considered recommendations from the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) that the domestic steel industry would suffer significant damage if previous trade remedies measures were lifted.1. EU: Imposing definitive anti-dumping duty on non-alloy steel plate or other alloy steel imported from ChinaOn February 13, 2016, the European Commission initiated an anti-dumping investigation on steel products imported from China, specifically goods of flat products of non-alloy or other steel (excluding stainless steel, silicon-electrical steel, tool steel and high-speed steel), hot-rolled, not clad, plated or coated, not in coils.Products with thickness and width specified under Notice No. 2016/C 58/09, classified under the following HS codes: ex. 7208.51.20, 7208.51.91, 7208.51.98, 7208.52.91, 7208.90.20, 7208.90.80, 7225.40.40, 7225.40.60 and 7225.99.00.On August 11, 2016, the European Commission required that goods from China be registered with Customs for a period of nine months. As of August 11, 2016, the EC has imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty at a rate of duty is between 65.1% and 73.7% of the net-free-at-Union-frontier price depending on the company. The trade remedy measure on the above products imported from China is subject to Commission Implementation Regulation No. 2016/1888, was in force for a period of 6 months.Following the conclusions of the damage caused by China's cheap supply of heavy plate steel, the European Commission imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on the goods under investigation group. The amount of duty is between 65.1% and 73.7% of the net-free-at-Union-frontier price before duty depending on the company, in effective until February 28, 2022.However, in the face of recommendations from stakeholders and market fluctuations, on September 3, 2019, the EC issued Commission Implementation Regulation 2019/1382 regulating the definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of non-alloyed or alloyed steel plates from China if the safeguard duty is also levied on the same good. Accordingly, the definitive anti-dumping duty is adjusted in the range of 40.1 - 48.7% in case when the product is also subject to a 25% safeguard duty out of quota.According to the EU Withdrawal Agreement, from January 1, 2021, the UK is no longer a member of the EU and the application of safeguard measures on steel products is carried out independently between the EU and the UK. After this event, both the UK and the EU conducted a review and updated the trade protectionsm being applied. Therefore, on February 25, 2022, the European Commission announced the intitation of a sunset review of the definitive duty imposed on steel products from China.2. UK: extends anti-dumping duty on heavy plate steel imported from ChinaHeavy plate steel is one of the main materials for the production of construction equipment, oil and gas pipelines, shipbuilding, bridges and buildings. The construction and machinery manufacturing sectors account for over 70% of the UK's heavy plate steel consumption. Today, Spartan UK Ltd and Liberty Steel Dalzell Ltd are the UK's two largest producers of heavy plate steel, contributing £10-20 million to the UK economy each year.Therefore, when realizing that the source of cheap steel imported from China has seriously threatened business activities and profits, manufacturers have filed a complaint with the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA). The TRA investigation found that failure to impose strict safeguards on imported goods would have caused damage to British industry, with the risk of shutting down steel mills in North Lincolnshire and North Lanarkshire.On June 28, 2023, the UK government made the conclusion that the anti-dumping measures for heavy plate steel imported from China would remain in effect for 5 years.3. Prospects of Vietnam's steel imports to the UK 2023For Vietnam, the UK is currently the 13th largest important trading partner among countries and territories in the world, ranking 5th among European and American countries and territories. According to data of Vietnam Customs, in the first 11 months of 2021, Vietnam's total export turnover to the UK reached $5.24 billion, leading the growth rate was iron and steel products with an increase of 1269%, followed by products from iron and steel increased by 91.1%.The outstanding growth of iron and steel products by the recovery of industries in Europe after the pandemic. On the other hand, Vietnam's steel production output has improved in both quality and quantity. In 2021, Vietnam's crude steel output reached 23 million tons, finished steel products reached 33 million tons, the amount of steel exported to the UK increased by 708%, reaching 418,903 tons with an average price of 1172.7 USD/ton, increased by 69.5% over the same period last year.On March 13, 2023, Vietnam had the opportunity to welcome the UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to discuss bilateral investment and trade between Vietnam and the UK 2023. At the meeting, the two sides agreed on solutions to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation, effectively implementing the UKVFTA and CPTPP Agreements. Through this event, the British government also continued to increase support and create favorable conditions to promote import and export activities between Vietnam and the UK. Therefore, most of Vietnam's steel products exported to the UK have grown well thanks to duty incentives.The UK government's move to extend anti-dumping duties on heavy plate steel imported from China may cause a supply chain shortage for domestic production. Finding alternative steel exporters is a solution that businesses can consider. Any demand for quotation and import of cheap and quality steel from Vietnam, please contact MRS Steel via Whatsapp: +84 76 911 2358 for the best support.

2022 is a tough year for the world steel industry in general and Vietnam in particular because of the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, high inflation and interest rates as well as China expanding lockdowns as Covid-19 epidemic. According to the forecast of the World Steel Association, steel demand and price in the world in the first half of 2023 will have significant changes. In this article, MRS Steel will dive deeper into the situation of Vietnam's steel industry and key steel producing regions in the world today.1. Vietnam steel prices tend to decreaseAccording to a recent report of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), the price of construction steel has just decreased by 270,000 VND/ton, the lowest in the past two months. On June 15, Hoa Phat adjusted the price of CB240 coil to 14.29 million VND/ton, the price of D10 CB300 rebar to 14.69 million VND/ton, down 200,000 VND/ton.Other brands such as Vietnam Italy, Viet Duc, Viet Nhat, Pomina also lowered the price of the two above steels similarly. Thus, from the beginning of April until now, steel price has dropped 11 times in a row with a cumulative decrease of nearly 3 million VND/ton. The continuous reduction of steel prices by factories aims to improve production and consumption in the domestic market. Data from VSA shows that in May 2023, the whole country produced more than 2.2 million tons of finished steel, up 2.3% over the previous month. Domestic consumption volume also recorded more than 2.3 million tons, up 13.6% compared to April and tended to continue to increase.Regarding the export situation in the first quarter of 2023, Vietnam sold about 2,299 million tons to foreign countries with a total value of 1.72 billion USD. Currently, Vietnam exports iron and steel to 30 markets, mainly ASEAN (36.38%), the EU (24.15%), the US (7.55%), India (5.72%) and Turkey (3.21%). 2. Asia to drive steel demand recovery 2023-2024According to the World Steel Association, the main indicators of the real estate construction industry may increase by the end of 2023 but still not significantly. Meanwhile, infrastructure investment is tending to shift to projects that focus on less steel. China's steel demand is expected to recover 2%, reach 939.3 million tons in 2023 and stay flat in 2024.Structural steel demand in ASEAN markets recorded a strong increase. Recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam began to restart delayed tourism and infrastructure projects. It is expected that the growth in steel demand of ASEAN will reach 77.1 million tons, up 6.2%, while in 2024 may increase by 5.7%.Overall, worldsteel expects steel demand in 2023 to increase by 40.8 million tons, reaching $1,8223 billion. In which, China contributed 18.4 million tons, ASEAN 4.5 million tons, Japan 2.2 million tons and South Korea 1.5 million tons.3. Steel prospect in developed and developing economiesSteel demand in developed economies such as Europe, the United States, Russia, Turkey,... has suffered a sizable contraction due to the effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, high energy costs and monetary tightening. After a decrease of 6.2% in 2022, the steel situation is expected to be more positive with an increase of 1.3% in 2023 and 3.2% in 2024.3.1. European Union and United KingdomDespite being significantly affected by the energy crisis caused by the Ukraine war, the EU's economy grew steadily by 3.5% in 2022. However, industrial activities still suffered significant losses due to high energy costs leading to a significant reduction in steel demand in 2022. In 2023, the EU steel industry is still facing many difficulties due to supply chain disruptions and currency tightening, expected to fall by 0.4%. A 5.6% rebound is expected in 2024. 3.2. USAThe US economy has taken a strong turn after the pandemic with the recovery and growth of the manufacturing and energy industries. Benefiting from the expansion of manufacturing operations, US steel demand in 2023 is expected to grow by 1.3% and then by 2.5% in 2024.3.3. IndiaAccording to the World Steel Association, India is still a bright spot in the global steel industry in 2023 thanks to managed inflation well. The automotive and consumer durables sectors are expected to grow steadily, leading to a healthy growth in steel demand at 7.3% in 2023 and 6.2% in 2024.With the forecast of steel demand growth in developed and developing economies in the period of 2023-2024, it will help importers to have the most effective purchase plan. Don't forget to follow MRS Steel to keep up to date with the latest news about Vietnam and the world's steel industry. Any need to import steel from Vietnam, please contact Whatsapp: +84 76 911 2358 for the best support from MRS Steel.

On August 14, the European Commission suddenly announced an anti-dumping investigation on cold-rolled stainless steel products originating from Vietnam to resolve suspicions of trade remedy measures circumvention from Indonesia's anti-dumping.Vietnam cold-rolled stainless steel was suddenly investigated for anti-dumpingOn July 3, the European Commission received a request from the European Steel Association (EUROFER) to investigate the possibility of circumventing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on cold-rolled stainless steel from Vietnam, Taiwan, and Turkey. Accordingly, the European Commission suspects that cold-rolled stainless steel products in Vietnam actually originate from Indonesia when this country is currently imposing anti-dumping measures.On August 14, the European Commission launched a circumvention investigation related to anti-dumping, according to which the process is expected to last for 9 months. Specifically, the involved products are on the list of flat-rolled stainless steel products, and they are classified under HS Code including 7219 31 00, 7219 32 10, 7219 32 90, 7219 33 10, 7219 33 90, 7219 34 10, 7219 34 90, 7219 35 10, 7219 35 90, 721 9 90 20, 7219 90 80, 7220 20 21, 7220 20 29, 7220 20 41, 7220 20 49, 7220 20 81, 7220 20 89, 7220 90 20 and 7220 90 80.Because the evasion occurs outside the Union, manufacturers from Vietnam, Taiwan, and Turkey can request exemption opinions from investigation measures. Relevant parties or legal representatives must be present and submit responses within 15 days from the effective date to consult on initiating an investigation.The reason for the anti-dumping investigationEUROFER suspects that stainless steel producers in Indonesia have received significant support from the government in exporting hot-rolled stainless steel to several countries including Vietnam. These products re-export finished stainless steel products and cold rolled stainless steel to the European market.There has been some evidence that stainless steel billets/sheets originating from Indonesia were assembled and finished in Vietnam, Taiwan, and Turkey before they were imported into the European market. Meanwhile, stainless steel sheet products originating from Indonesia have been subject to anti-dumping measures since November 2021.Eurofer General Director Axel Eggert said: "Since the application of anti-subsidy and anti-dumping measures, direct import of cold-rolled stainless steel products from Indonesia has decreased significantly." According to data from MEPS International analysis, Indonesia's stainless steel import volume to the European market peaked at 38,205 tons in the fourth quarter of 2021. By the second quarter of 2022, the import volume had decreased by 74% to 9,781 tons.Currently, Vietnam is the only country among the three countries that recorded a growth in cold-rolled stainless steel exports directly to Europe with output increasing from 11,298 tons to 18,883 tons from the first quarter 4 of 2021 until the second quarter of this year. Accordingly, the mentioned time coincided with when Indonesia began reducing steel imports into the EU market.Opportunities for Vietnamese stainless steel manufacturersThe rapid increase in Vietnam's steel export turnover in recent years has attracted the attention of many countries, leading to a high rate of trade remedy investigations. Most of the lawsuits usually come from large and important markets such as Europe, the US, Mexico, ... these are incredibly potential markets; however, they come with many strict standards and regulations and high risk of trade remedies.Through the above incident, it will be time for Vietnamese steel enterprises, especially domestic stainless steel manufacturers, to consider more strictly controlling the volume of exports, thereby, the Vietnamese steel enterprises can limit adverse effects on the domestic market of the exporting country. Reasonable control of the amount of exported steel with a reasonable price will reduce the anti-dumping investigation rate, protect the manufacturers' interests on both sides and stabilize the market. 

The European Union (EU) has issued Regulation (EU) 2023/1301, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/159 on the application of safeguard measures to some imported steel products. The European Commission does not extend the safeguard duty for an additional year unless the EU’s steel producers can demonstrate injury from imported goods.1. EU: extension of safeguard measures against imported steel in the form of TRQOn June 2, 2023, the Committee on Safeguards of the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that the European Union (EU) continued to extend its safeguard measure against imported steel under the form of tariff rate quota (TRQ) for some imported steel products for an additional year. The decision has been valid from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.The reason for the extension is that the domestic steel industry of Europe can suffer significantly from the dumping and export of cheap steel by foreigners. The EC continues to maintain its defense by allocating quotas that are mixed between the way of allocating separate quotas for each country and general quota allocations to the remaining countries. The out-of-quota tariff is 25%. The amount of non-taxable quotas continued to increase by 4% compared to the period from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2023.Vietnam is subject to a standard quota on a quarterly basis for 8 product groups, including:Group 1: hot rolled steel plateGroup 3B: electrical engineering steel plateGroups 4A, 4B: galvanized steel plateGroup 5: organic coated steel sheetGroup 9: stainless cold rolled steel plateGroup 25B: large steel pipesGroup 26: other steel pipesFor other groups of steel products, Vietnam is exempted from safeguard measures according to the criterion set for a developing country whose import turnover is less than 3%. In case the market share of importing another group of steel products from Vietnam into the EU exceeds 3%, this group will be included in the list of applying TRQ during the annual administrative reviews.2. EU: amending the application of safeguard measures to some imported steelsAfter listening to the recommendations from the relevant countries during the period from 5/6/2023 to 13/6/2023 along with the assessment of whether to terminate the safeguard measure early before June 2023 based on the general import export data in 2022, the EU has issued a new revised regulation effective from 1/7/2023.Under the revised rules, all tariff rate quotas (TRQs) of the safeguard measure will continue to increase by 4% from 1 July 2023. Any member of the WTO that is a developing country is exempted from safeguard duty in case that country's exports to the EU are less than 3% of its total imports for each product category. Vietnam is further applied to category 26 and removed category 3A compared to the old scope.If the aggregate share of imports from developing countries (with individual shares below 3%) exceeds 9% in a specific category, they will be subject to the same measure in that product category.According to the above Regulation, the countries benefiting from the quota expansion by country include Vietnam, Turkey, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Oman, and South Fly.3. Vietnamese steel exports to the EU marketAccording to the latest report on Vietnam's steel market situation of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), the total production of the hot rolled coil in 2022 reached 6.04 million tons. Which, exports reached 1.3 million tons, up 0.9% over the same period in 2021.Galvanized sheet production in 2022 reached 4.56 million tons, down 23.4% over the same period in 2021, of which exports reached 2.086 million tons, down 38.1% over the same period in 2021. Steel pipe is one of the leading export products. According to VSA's record, the production output in 2022 reached more than 2.065 million tons, of which the export volume reached 258,873 tons, up 9.1% over the same period in 2021.With increasingly improved production capacity, and strong investment in technology lines, Vietnamese steel is capable of meeting international standards and customer requirements. The advantages of membership in the WTO and the signing of the EVFTA Agreements help Vietnam open up many opportunities to export steel to international markets in general and Europe in particular.Amendments in Regulation (EU) 2019/159 of the European Union positively impact Vietnam's steel industry. As a result, customers can import cheap, high-quality steel and enjoy many tax incentives. 

In October 2021, the European Commission imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty of up to 24.6% on Chinese flat-rolled aluminum products. However, this decision was suspended for 9 months because of specific effects on lines 7060 and 7607 supply. After the review process, the EU lifted this suspension and continued to impose anti-dumping duties on China from July 12, 2022.1. EU: impose temporary anti-dumping duty on flat-rolled aluminum products imported from ChinaOn August 14, 2020, the European Commission received a European Aluminum complaint about the dumping of flat-rolled aluminum imported from China. The products under investigation include plates and roll with a thickness of 0.2 - 6mm as well as coils and strips with a thickness of 0.03-0.2mm, except for aluminum sheets used in the beverage packaging industry, car cover, or aerospace industry application.They are grouped under the HS codes 7606.11.10, 7606.11.91, 7606.11.93, 7606.11.99, 7606.12.20, 7606.12.92, 7606.12.93, 7606.12.99, 7606.91.00, 7606.9 and 7607.11.90.At the conclusion of the investigation, the European Commission implemented anti-dumping measures with duty rates ranging from 19.3 to 46.7% for flat-rolled aluminum products imported from China, effective from 13/04/2021.Specifically, shaped aluminum of Guangdong Haomei New Materials Co Ltd and Guangdong King Metal Light Alloy Technology Co Ltd will be subject to an anti-dumping duty of 21.2%, while that of Press Metal International Ltd is to a duty of 25%. Other companies that "cooperate" in the investigation are 22.1%, and materials from other companies are on duty at 32.1%.2. EU: imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on flat-rolled aluminum products imported from ChinaBy October 12, 2021, the EC had imposed definitive tariffs of up to 19.1-24.6% on flat-rolled aluminum products imported from China to limit dumping, causing damage to the industry of Europe. Flat-rolled aluminum products are one of the core products of EU steel with a market value of 700 million euros.However, on the same day, the Commission suspended the imposition of anti-dumping measures for a period of 9 months (according to the EU Basic Anti-Dumping Regulation, Article 14) to address market fluctuations that occurred after the investigation phase. The demand for aluminum products in the EU market is increasing, so the imposition of anti-dumping measures at this stage will cause supply disruptions and many other severe effects on trade cooperation with China in the future.3. EU: not to prolong the suspension of the definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of flat-rolled aluminum products from ChinaOn 9 March 2022, the European Commission sent a request to the European Aluminum Association and domestic producers to investigate whether the suspension should be extended or not. After considering market movements during the period of analysis (PoA), fluctuations in the aluminum industry that may occur in the near future, the views of importers, exporters, and the EC have decided not to extend the anti-dumping suspension of AFRPs originating in China.Thus, from July 12, 2022, China's flat-rolled aluminum products will be subject to the prescribed anti-dumping tax rate when imported into the EU.Antaike data show that China exported 380,000 tons of aluminum to the EU in 2021, down 17.6% compared to the same period last year. Under the EU's plan, Chinese exporters will be required to declare a carbon border tax from 2023 and be taxed on products that don't meet carbon emission regulations from 2026. These regulations will significantly affect the export of flat-rolled aluminum products from China to the European market. Besides, the challenges of supplying quality and cheap AFRPs to EU importers will increase in the coming time.