The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is working with steel businesses to handle procedures required by the US Department of Commerce (DoC) to seek exemption from duties by proving their products are not made from Chinese materials.

Producing steel at a factory of the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Company

The DoC has said that importers and exporters of Vietnamese merchandise that is produced from substrate originating in Vietnam or a third-country can seek an exemption from cash deposits by certifying that the substrate originated outside of China.

On May 21, the US department ruled that corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) and certain cold-rolled steel flat products (CRS) imported from Vietnam produced from substrate originating in China are circumventing antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders on CORE and CRS imported from China.

The DoC said the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to collect AD and CVD cash deposits on imports of CORE produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate at rates of 199.43 percent and 39.05 percent, respectively.

It will also collect AD and CVD cash deposits on imports of cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate at rates of 199.76 percent and 256.44 percent, respectively.

These cash deposit rates were previously established in the AD and CVD investigations on CRS and CORE from China.

Cash deposits will apply to all unliquidated entries on or after November 4, 2016, the date the inquiries were initiated.

The MoIT has been working with the Vietnam Steel Association and businesses to monitor the investigations since they were launched.

It has repeatedly asked the DoC to investigate in an objective manner and in line with World Trade Organisation regulations and the US’s practices, and not to levy the duties on Vietnamese exporters.

The Vietnam Steel Association and steel producers of Vietnam have also worked with the US to clarify the origin of steel materials and the production process in the country.

In 2017, Vietnam exported 4.7 million tonnes of steel abroad, earning 3.1 billion USD in revenue.

Of this volume, 567,000 tonnes of steel were shipped to the US, accounting for 12 percent of total exports.

VNA