With sufficient evidences, Vietnam should impose an anti-dumping tax on cold-rolled stainless steel products to protect local manufacturers, said Pham Chi Cuong, former chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association.
working machine__Photo: Hoang Hai/VNA
Above evidences may be revealed on June 6 at a consultation meeting of parties involved in the investigation into dumping of a number of cold-rolled stainless steel products from China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Earlier, in December 2013, the Competition Management Authority publicized, at the request of two local enterprises of Posco VST and Inox Hoa Binh, its investigation findings that there were dumping sales of above products, and suggested the imposition of a temporary tax of between 6.45 and 30.73 percent for a period of 120 days.
Eighteen local enterprises that manufacture products from imported stainless steel from the aforesaid countries showed negative response to this suggestion, saying the anti-dumping tax would adversely affect their access to abundant sources of materials with competitive prices.
This move is quite necessary to protect local steel manufacture in the long term and an anti-dumping lawsuit is just a claim for justice in international trade as Vietnamese export steel has been investigated and subjected to anti-dumping measures many a time abroad. However, Cuong suggested that the anti-dumping tax should be imposed in a prudent manner and at different rates according to a specific roadmap for importers to adapt.
Stainless steel is the first product facing an anti-dumping lawsuit in Vietnam since 2004 when the Ordinance on Anti-Dumping Measures for Imports into Vietnam took effect. At present, imported stainless steel is subject to the import duty rate of 0-10 percent (zero-percent duty rate is applicable to cold-rolled stainless steel imported from China and ASEAN countries under free trade agreements to which Vietnam is a contracting state).
