Hot-rolled coils imported from China may be investigated by Vietnam
Steel NewsDate: 04-04-2024 by: Nhu Quynh
Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has just considered an anti-dumping investigation of hot-rolled coils originating from China, when this country's steel products flooded the Vietnamese market.
Specifically, in March 2024, Hoa Phat and Formosa submitted a petition asking the MoIT to quickly intervene and investigate. For details of the incident, please read and learn with MRS Steel through the article below!
Chinese-imported hot-rolled coil is rampant in the Vietnamese market.
Vietnam's steel industry faces a wave of imported hot-rolled coils
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, due to the difficult real estate market, many domestic economic sectors recovered slowly, leading to an oversupply of steel. Therefore, recently, China has promoted the export of hot-rolled coils to solve this situation.
According to data from the General Department of Customs, in the first 2 months of 2024, Vietnam imported 1.89 million tons of hot-rolled coils with an import value of over 1 billion USD. Of which, the steel source from China is 1.4 million tons, accounting for 74.2% of total imports. From the first quarter of 2023 until now, China's hot-rolled coils price has decreased from 618 USD/ton to about 520–560 USD/ton, depending on type. The reality of steel imports from China increasing sharply in the current context is mainly because most steel products imported into the Vietnamese market have an import duty of 0%.
China's hot-rolled steel coils are at risk of anti-dumping investigation
Faced with this reality, some opinions from Hoa Phat and Formosa Ha Tinh believe that the decrease in imported steel prices may cause unfair competition, affecting domestic production. Therefore, it is necessary to apply anti-dumping measures to imported hot-rolled coils products originating from China. In response to this request, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is considering and has not yet tried to officially conclude the case. The relevant agencies will resolve the case in accordance with regulations before reaching a final conclusion.
What did Vietnamese steel enterprises say before this incident?
Facing the massive wave of imports makes the steel manufacturing situation of domestic enterprises difficult. However, recently, steel manufacturing enterprises in the Vietnamese market, include Hoa Sen Group, TVP Steel Joint Stock Company; Ton Dong A Corporation; Nam Kim Steel Joint Stock Company, Southern Steel Sheet Co.,Ltd; Pomina Steel Joint Stock Company; Vina One Steel; Viet Nhat Steel Production Trading Joint Stock Company and Nam Hung Metal Joint Stock Company have sent documents to the authorities to protest the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation on hot-rolled coil products imported from China.
Accordingly, hot-rolled coils are an upstream product used to produce finished steel products. Therefore, if an anti-dumping duty is imposed on this product, the product supply will be interrupted, creating a monopoly for domestic enterprises. From there, steel mills producing steel pipes and galvanized steel will be affected due to increased input materials, leading to increased product prices. This not only affects the steel industry but also the entire economy.
Vietnamese steel mills proposed not to conduct a trade defense investigation on the product
Accordingly, the above steel mills affirmed that there is no phenomenon of dumping of hot-rolled coils products affecting domestic steel manufacturers; therefore, they proposed not to initiate a trade defense investigation on the products. The Trade Defense Agency also said it will thoroughly investigate the opinions of steel mills that produce steel sheet, galvanized steel pipes, and steel mills that use hot-rolled coils as the main production material for finished steel products.
Based on the opinions and evidence of relevant parties and ensuring the legal rights and interests of businesses in this case, the Investigation Agency will have a detailed appraisal report of the dossier. The final result will be decided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, whether to investigate or not.
Above is information about the case of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam considering investigating the anti-dumping duty on hot-rolled coils products imported from China. We at MRS Steel will continuously update information about this incident. We invite readers to follow along.
