Some US steel producers have lodged a request to the Department of Commerce (DOC) to ask for investigations into and application of preventive measures against the avoidance of paying anti-dumping tax and anti-subsidy tax on corrosion-resistant carbon steel imported from Vietnam.

According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, the US firms clarified their suspicion that corrosion-resistant carbon steel produced by Taiwan (China) and the Republic of Korea and cold-rolled steel produced by the Republic of Korea had been exported to Vietnam before they were shipped to the US.

The companies pointed out that since the US applied anti-dumping and anti-subsidy probes in 2015, the import volumes of corrosion-resistant carbon steel and cold-rolled steel from Taiwan and the RoK has dropped sharply, while those from Vietnam have increased rapidly.

At the same time, they accused Vietnam of importing hot-rolled steel from Taiwan and the RoK for production of the investigated products.

The DOC will consider whether to launch investigations on the case or not within 45 days from the time receiving the petition, which means on July 27, 2018. A final decision will be given within 300 days since the investigations start.

In case an investigation is conducted, domestic steel exporters are advised to fully cooperate with investigators. At the same time, they should coordinate closely with the Ministry of Industry and Trade during the process of settling the case.

VNA