Canada preliminarily concludes that semi-trailers imported from Vietnam do not evade trade defense taxes.

1. Investigation Background

On January 19, 2022, CBSA issued a Final Determination, determining that China has engaged in dumping and subsidizing of semi-trailers.

On February 18, 2022, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) concluded that imports of semi-trailers from China caused injury to the domestic manufacturing industry and decided to impose duties on this item.

On November 25, 2024, based on the accusation of Max-Atlas International Inc. that semi-trailers imported from Vietnam evaded the trade defense tax currently applied to China, CBSA initiated an investigation to verify the case. Accordingly, the investigated products are mainly classified under HS code: 8716.39 and can be classified under HS codes: 8706.00, 8716.40, 8716.80 and 8716.90. The current tax rate applied to products originating or imported from China is 126.4% (anti-dumping tax) and 12,370 yuan/unit (CTC tax).

2. CBSA Preliminary Assessment

Following the initial investigation, CBSA made the following preliminary conclusions:

- There is a clear change in the scale of trade: Accordingly, throughout the period from 2021 to September 2024, the total import volume of investigated goods from China continuously decreased sharply, from 49% to 1%. Meanwhile, the total import volume from Vietnam increased dramatically, from 0% in 2021 and 2022 to 34% in 2023.

- The proportion of parts or components originating from China, in the total cost of producing semi-trailers in Vietnam, is insignificant.

- After examining the costs of production processes in Vietnam, including labor costs, management costs and raw material costs during the production process, and comparing them with the total cost of goods manufactured, CBSA found that these process costs accounted for a significant proportion of the total production costs. In addition, CBSA also found evidence of large investments in infrastructure, machinery, and research and development (R&D) activities. Therefore, CBSA believes that the semi-trailer production process in Vietnam does not simply create small and insignificant changes compared to input materials from China.

- Based on the above analysis, within the framework of the preliminary assessment, CBSA believes that although there is a change in the trade scale between China and Vietnam, there is no trade defense tax evasion activity on semi-trailers imported from Vietnam.

3. Next action

- Parties may submit comments on the SEF and respond to comments on the SEF. The deadline for submitting comments is 12:00 noon (Eastern Canada Time) on April 16, 2024. The deadline for submitting responses to comments on the SEF is 12:00 noon, April 23, 2025.

- The investigation is expected to conclude on May 23, 2025.

See SEF here .

For more information, please contact: Foreign Trade Defense Handling Department, Trade Defense Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade , 23 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Email: [email protected] , [email protected] (Specialist in charge: Nguyen Hoang Kien. Mobile: 094.261.3889).

Source: Department of Trade Defense

Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/thong-bao/ca-na-da-so-bo-ket-luan-so-mi-ro-mooc-nhap-khau-tu-viet-nam-khong-lan-tranh-thue-phong-ve-thuong-mai.html