The Ministry of Industry and Trade has decided to impose anti-dumping tariffs on coldrolled stainless steel products imported from four Asian countries to protect the domestic market. Under the ministry’s decision, which will take effect on October 5, the tariffs will be 3.07% on stainless steel imported from Indonesia, 4.64%-6.87% on products from mainland China, 10.71% on imports from Malaysia, and 13.79%-37.29% on imports from Taiwan. This is the first time Vietnam has applied the duties to imported stainless steel products since its integration into the world economy. In June 2013, two Vietnamese steel makers, Posco VST Co. and Inox Hoa Binh JSC, lodged a lawsuit accusing steel exporters from these markets of dumping their products into Vietnam, causing serious injury for domestic steel makers.
According to the plaintiffs, the huge stainless steel imports caused a 132% increase in the unsold inventory of local steel makers as of the end of 2012. Meanwhile, domestic steel makers only accounted for 35% of the market in 2011 while their market share a year earlier was 41%. In the same period, the market share of imported products jumped from 59% to 65%.
Vietnam’s steel makers can meet domestic demand for stainless steel as they have invested heavily in modern production lines and manufacturing plants. The domestic steel makers, however, have to operate below designed capacity due to the dumping of imported products. At present, imported cold-rolled steel products are taxed between 0% and 10%. The zero percent tax rate applies to products from China and ASEAN countries in line with Vietnam’s commitments to the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.
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