Countries will increasingly adopt trade defense measures, and along with that, the complexity and scale of the cases will also increase.
The global situation continues to be rapidly changing and unpredictable, significantly impacting domestic production and business activities. Mr. Trinh Anh Tuan, Director of the Trade Defense Department ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ), shared his views with the Industry and Trade Newspaper on the work of protecting Vietnamese goods in the global supply chain on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2025.
Barriers are constantly emerging.
How have the increasing protectionist trends posed challenges to Vietnamese goods amidst the recent "storm" of protectionist measures from export markets, sir?
Mr. Trinh Anh Tuan : In 2024, the number of trade defense investigations against Vietnamese exports increased significantly, totaling 28 cases. The United States alone accounted for nearly 50% of the total number of initiated investigations. Trade defense investigations have not only increased in number but have also become more complex, with many countries investigating new and unprecedented issues. For example, conducting dual investigations on the same product; and the range of products under investigation is increasingly diverse, from high-export value items to low-export value items.
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| Mr. Trinh Anh Tuan - Director of the Trade Defense Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) |
In reality, the increasing application of trade defense measures by various markets poses numerous challenges for Vietnamese export products due to the impacts of these measures. Specifically, Vietnamese businesses face increased costs as they have to allocate more resources to participate in and handle trade defense investigations and meet the requirements of foreign investigating agencies; the competitiveness of exporting businesses is reduced when tariffs are imposed, and importers will be more hesitant to purchase goods from Vietnamese businesses compared to countries not subject to tariffs.
Another challenge is that we still face the problem of being considered a non-market economy by some countries, leading foreign investigating authorities to often use foreign surrogate values to calculate dumping and countervailing duties for Vietnamese businesses. This often drives up anti-dumping and countervailing duties, putting businesses at a disadvantage compared to countries not considered non-market economies.
Early and distant defense
Despite facing significant pressure from investigations, the early warning system, guided by the principle of "prevention from the outset," has contributed to protecting export goods within the global supply chain. What are your thoughts on this matter?
Mr. Trinh Anh Tuan : Implementing the policy of "prevention early and from afar," the Trade Defense Department has established and operated an early warning system to monitor, collect, and analyze data on Vietnamese export goods at risk of being investigated or having trade defense measures applied by foreign countries.
The Trade Remedies Department also utilizes information received from over 60 trade missions in key export markets regarding risks and potential trade remedy investigations, as well as conflicts between Vietnamese export goods and goods in those markets.
Currently, the Department is monitoring the fluctuations of over 300 Vietnamese export items to markets with a high frequency of trade defense investigations. In addition, the Department is actively disseminating regulations on origin and trade defense regulations to businesses to prevent inaccurate information declarations and complicity in origin fraud and illegal transshipment.
Along with strengthening early warning systems, and acting as the focal agency for trade defense management, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has implemented a series of other decisive measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese businesses. As a result, it has supported export businesses in handling and resolving nearly 50% of trade defense cases initiated by foreign countries, and many cases in 2024 achieved positive results.
New challenges
Trade defense is a tool allowed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) for its members to ensure fair competition. Could you outline some trends in trade defense investigations in 2025?
Mr. Trinh Anh Tuan : The global situation continues to be rapidly changing and unpredictable, creating a new context for global trade defense. Therefore, countries will tend to apply trade defense measures more and more, and the complexity and scale of cases will also increase.
Some trends in investigations include: countries adopting new legal regulations to increase applicable tariffs, through the use of regulations on non-market economies and special market conditions; stricter procedural requirements when participating in trade defense cases, etc.
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| The Trade Remedies Department will continue to support Vietnamese businesses in trade remedy investigations. Photo: THS |
Against this backdrop, the Trade Remedies Department will continue to support Vietnamese businesses in trade defense investigations to ensure the highest benefits for the Vietnamese business community. At the same time, the Department will continue to research, review, and improve Vietnam's trade defense legislation to ensure it meets practical requirements, is consistent, appropriate, and in line with international commitments.
Promoting the recognition of Vietnam as a market economy.
Promoting the recognition of Vietnam's market economy is expected to contribute to limiting trade protection measures against Vietnamese export goods. What are your thoughts on this work in 2025?
Mr. Trinh Anh Tuan : Promoting a country's recognition of Vietnam as a market economy does not, in essence, deprive domestic producers in importing countries of their right to request investigating authorities to initiate investigations and apply trade safeguard measures. However, promoting a country's recognition of Vietnam as a market economy will help Vietnamese export businesses receive more equitable treatment in anti-dumping/anti-subsidy investigations, as the dumping/subsidy margin will be calculated based on the businesses' own production costs instead of using the production costs of another country as a "substitute value." This could lead to lower anti-dumping/anti-subsidy duties that more accurately reflect the actual production and business situation of Vietnamese enterprises.
Accordingly, the Trade Remedies Department will continue to strengthen research, provide advice, and propose options and methods of cooperation to encourage countries to consider recognizing Vietnam as a market economy. Specifically, following the direction of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is developing a plan to research ways to encourage several countries to recognize Vietnam as a market economy in trade defense cases during the 2024-2030 period, focusing on countries with domestic laws stipulating market economy principles or variations of market economy, and which are also important trading partners of Vietnam.
Thank you, sir!
Source: https://congthuong.vn/phong-ve-thuong-mai-bien-nguy-thanh-co-truoc-bao-thuong-truong-371557-371557.html
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