Vietnamese export goods are 'collaterally affected' by Chinese goods: Do not assist in fraudulent acts...

Vietnam's wood and wood products industry is facing many risks of being investigated for anti-dumping tax evasion after the US-China trade conflict - Photo: Nhu Binh

Especially when being investigated by other countries for tax evasion, affecting Vietnam's export activities.

Mr. Trinh Anh Tuan, Director of the Department of Trade Defense ( Ministry of Industry and Trade )

Mr. Trinh Anh Tuan, Director of the Department of Trade Defense (Ministry of Industry and Trade), made this recommendation when talking to Tuoi Tre about the issue of Vietnamese exported goods being "collaterally affected" when some Chinese goods were subject to trade defense measures by other countries (Tuoi Tre, October 17).

Mr. Tuan said: Up to now, there have been 38 cases of anti-dumping tax evasion investigations from countries on products imported from Vietnam and the number of investigations is increasing.

To proactively respond to lawsuits like this, businesses need to improve the value chain of their products, increase the use of domestically produced materials...

* What risks does the increase in anti-circumvention investigations pose to investigated industries in general and to export goods produced by Vietnamese enterprises in particular?

- For Vietnamese enterprises, being investigated by foreign countries and having measures applied to prevent evasion of trade defense measures will have negative impacts such as reducing competitive advantages, leading to partial or total loss of export markets.

Businesses also have to allocate time and resources to handle and hire legal consultants to meet the requirements of foreign investigation agencies, increasing the financial burden. In fact, some US anti-circumvention investigations last for 2-3 years, making it even more difficult for businesses to maintain exports.

* Is there illegal transportation or fraudulent origin of foreign products invested in Vietnam as countries have brought up to conduct these investigations, sir?

- The possibility of illegal transfer and fraudulent origin of foreign-invested goods in Vietnam through simple processing or assembly and export is there. However, these are only isolated acts, "one bad apple spoils the barrel", and do not reflect the behavior of the entire Vietnamese export industry.

The fact that countries conduct anti-circumvention investigations on our export goods does not confirm that the investigated enterprises are evading trade defense measures.

For example, the US recently concluded that Vietnamese enterprises did not evade the anti-evasion investigation into round stainless steel wire (accused of tax evasion, currently applied to South Korea), round welded carbon and non-alloy welded steel pipes (accused of tax evasion, currently applied to Taiwan - China)...

The US also ended the anti-circumvention investigation on steel cart wheels, wooden cabinets (currently applied to China)..., allowing most Vietnamese export enterprises to participate in the self-certification mechanism for non-circumvention to be exempted from taxes...

The EU also granted exemptions from anti-circumvention measures for some businesses in the anti-circumvention investigation on stainless steel...

Many Vietnamese export industries are being investigated for tax evasion, including exported car tires - Photo: TAN LUC

* In your opinion, what should Vietnam do to further improve its policies on attracting investment and managing import and export to prevent illegal transshipment and origin fraud?

- In my opinion, state agencies need to continue to promote the implementation of Decision No. 824/2019 of the Prime Minister approving the project to strengthen state management of preventing evasion of trade defense measures and origin fraud; Resolution No. 119/2019 of the Government on a number of urgent measures to strengthen state management of preventing origin fraud and illegal transshipment of goods.

Authorities also need to recommend that businesses carefully study the regulations on anti-trade defense evasion of the importing country, and absolutely not participate in or assist in tax evasion or trade defense evasion.

* So how can businesses better respond and avoid tax avoidance lawsuits from other countries?

- Exporting enterprises should not support acts of origin fraud or evasion of trade defense measures. Monitor early warning information to develop appropriate export strategies for each stage; learn about regulations on anti-evasion investigations of importing countries...

Establish information channels with import partners, associations, and industries to promptly update and handle lawsuits and arising situations; at the same time, it is necessary to improve the product value chain, increase the use of domestically produced materials or materials from sources that are not subject to trade defense measures applied by importing countries; increase the proportion of added value created in Vietnam.

Implement a clear and transparent management and traceability system for raw materials; maintain an accounting system according to international standards, and keep full invoices and documents to prove when investigated.

Before signing a contract, it is necessary to discuss carefully with the importing partner to assess the risk of being investigated for evasion of trade defense measures if the exported product or part of the raw materials used to manufacture the exported product are goods subject to trade defense measures applied by the importing country.

In case of uncertainty, it is possible to ask the importing partner to use the mechanism of pre-determination of origin. And when being investigated by the importing country for anti-trade defense evasion, the enterprise needs to develop a unified and consistent strategy for handling the case. Allocate resources to handle the case, consider hiring a lawyer.

Enterprises proactively and fully cooperate, providing information and documents as requested by foreign investigation agencies. Closely coordinate with the Department of Trade Defense during the handling of cases to receive timely guidance.

* What will the Ministry of Industry and Trade do to support effective implementation of lawsuits and minimize damage to domestic enterprises, avoid being implicated in these lawsuits as well as prevent production and origin fraud?

- The Ministry of Industry and Trade is still proactively coordinating with ministries, branches, localities, and associations to support export enterprises in effectively handling foreign anti-avoidance investigations through diverse activities.

Including early warning of the risk of being investigated for evasion of trade defense measures so that businesses can proactively develop a response plan.

Communicate promptly with associations and businesses to provide updated information to help businesses grasp the developments of the case. We also strengthen legal consulting activities, investigation procedures, regulations/investigation practices of the suing country and provide specific recommendations and handling directions for businesses.

In particular, we also provide information at the request of businesses and exchange and consult with foreign investigation agencies to give our views on the legal and practical aspects of the case.

Many countries investigate tax evasion with Vietnamese goods.

After just over five months of officially launching an anti-dumping investigation into solar panels imported from Vietnam, the US Department of Commerce has recently issued a preliminary conclusion on the case with temporary anti-subsidy tariffs for two Vietnamese exporting enterprises of 0.81% and 2.85%. Companies that do not participate in the questionnaire and do not cooperate will be subject to tariffs of up to 292.61%.

According to Mr. Ngo Sy Hoai - Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association, since the US-China trade conflict broke out in 2018, Vietnamese wood enterprises have faced the risk of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tax evasion investigations, greatly affecting export activities.

In fact, many businesses supporting Vietnam have been "blacklisted" and are no longer allowed to export to the US.

Along with the US, according to the Trade Defense Department, many other markets such as the EU, Türkiye and Brazil are also investigating tax evasion with Vietnam with nearly 40 cases, most of which are related to steel products, wood products, solar panels, etc.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hang-viet-xuat-khau-bi-va-lay-hang-trung-quoc-khong-tiep-tay-cho-hanh-vi-gian-lan-20241022092955061.htm