Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade responds to anti-dumping investigation into Chinese hot-rolled products

According to the Vietnamese S890Q Grade D steel Ministry of Industry and Trade, in accordance with the prescribed procedures and deadlines, the Trade Defense Bureau of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade will have preliminary investigation results on the anti-dumping case (No. AD20) against hot-rolled S890Q Grade D steel products from China and India by November 2024 at the latest. On the afternoon of October 23rd, at the regular press conference organized by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade for the third quarter, relevant leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade confirmed that if the preliminary investigation results of imported hot-rolled products in Vietnam include actual damage to domestic production enterprises, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade will adopt temporary anti-dumping measures through import tax policies.

The reporter asked the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade about the phenomenon of a large number of imported hot-rolled products in Vietnam: According to data from Vietnam Customs, since the first nine months of 2024, Vietnam has imported 8.8 million tons of hot-rolled products, continuously achieving growth. Despite the anti-dumping investigation, the import volume of hot-rolled steel products in Vietnam still reached 1.2 million tons in September 2024. Not only does it affect the Vietnamese market, but it also threatens the operation of domestic steel production enterprises in Vietnam. How is the Ministry of Industry and Trade currently ruling on this incident?

Mr. Chu Th ắ ng Trung, Deputy Director of the Trade Defense Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, responded to this question at a press conference, stating that on September 12th, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade extended the deadline for submitting the anti-dumping investigation questionnaire on hot-rolled products from China by one month, until 17:00 on October 18th, 2024. The deadline for the current questionnaire has ended, and the Vietnam Trade Relief Department is sorting out the information and data provided by relevant parties. According to preliminary statistics, only foreign manufacturing and export enterprises have sent more than 20 S890Q Grade D steel inquiries and responses to the Ministry of Commerce, not including inquiries and responses from domestic Vietnamese enterprises and importers, which is a difficult task.

The information and data currently collected are important criteria for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to determine whether and to what extent the domestic steel production industry in Vietnam has been damaged. If there is sufficient evidence to preliminarily determine that Vietnamese domestic products have suffered significant damage due to the dumping of imported goods, the trade defense investigation agency will make a recommendation to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to consider taking temporary anti-dumping measures to limit the negative impact on domestic products and related producers.

Mr. Chu Th ắ ng Trung, Deputy Director of the Trade Defense Department, also stated that the current domestic hot-rolled product production industry in Vietnam includes two enterprises with a production capacity of approximately 7.6 million tons per year. The domestically produced hot-rolled steel products not only meet the domestic market demand, but also have a portion exported to other markets, with a ratio of 50%: 50%. Meanwhile, the demand for imported hot-rolled steel in the Vietnamese market is expected to be around 13 million tons per year. Therefore, in the short term, it is still necessary to import a portion of hot coils to meet domestic demand.