US initiates dual anti-dumping, anti-subsidy investigation into fiber molded products from Vietnam

According to the Department of Trade Defense, Ministry of Industry and Trade , the United States initiated a dual anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into fiber-cast products imported from Vietnam.

On the afternoon of November 1, the Department of Trade Defense announced that on October 28, 2024, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) officially initiated an anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigation into fiber-cast products imported from Vietnam.

The United States initiated a dual anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into fiber-cast products from Vietnam. Illustrative photo.

General information about the case

Products under investigation:

Fiber cast products have HS codes: 4823.61.0020, 4823.61.0040, 4823.69.0020, 4823.69.0040, 4823.90.1000. Case codes: A-552-845 and C-552-846. The countries under investigation include 2 countries, Vietnam and China, and both are proposed for dual anti-dumping/anti-subsidy investigations.

According to the US International Trade Commission (ITC), in 2023, Vietnam exported about 50 million USD and accounted for about 9% of total US imports. From the beginning of the year to August this year, Vietnam exported about 34.5 million USD.

The anti-dumping investigation period is from April 1, 2024 to September 30, 2024; anti-subsidy from 2023. The damage investigation period is 3 years (2021-2023).

Information on alleged dumping

Alleged dumping margin for Vietnam: 231.73% - 260.56% (lower than China's alleged dumping margin).

Country and Surrogate Value: Since the United States considers Vietnam a non-market economy , the U.S. Department of Commerce intends to use Indonesia's surrogate value (Indonesia is on the latest list of surrogate countries issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce for Vietnam).

Parties have 30 days to comment on the country and the alternative value before the U.S. Department of Commerce issues its preliminary determinations in the case.

Subsidy Allegations Information

Alleged dumping margin against Vietnam: The US Department of Commerce has not yet released the alleged subsidy margin against Vietnam.

Subsidy Programs Under Investigation: The U.S. Department of Commerce has initiated investigations into 26 government subsidy programs, including:

Group of loan and guarantee programs: Including preferential loan programs, export factoring, export guarantees, investment credit for exporters of 04 state-owned joint stock commercial banks SOCBs (Agribank, Vietinbank, Vietcombank and BIDV) because these banks are subject to Government intervention; investment credit program of Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) and interest rate support programs of the State Bank;

The group of import tax exemption programs includes the import tax exemption program for imported goods to produce export goods; import tax refund for raw materials to produce export goods; import tax exemption for imported goods to industrial zones; import tax exemption for foreign-invested enterprises; import tax exemption for imported raw materials for export processing enterprises and export processing zones.

The group of corporate income tax exemption programs includes programs on corporate income tax (CIT) incentives for exporters; CIT incentives for enterprises in special zones; CIT incentives under Decree No. 24/2007/ND-CP; tax incentives for new investment projects; accelerated depreciation and increased deductible expenses.

The group of land incentive programs includes the Program on land/water surface rent exemption and reduction for encouraged industries or industrial zones; tax and land use fee exemption and reduction for encouraged industries or industrial zones; land rent exemption and reduction for enterprises in special zones; land rent exemption and reduction for enterprises with foreign investment capital.

The sponsorship program includes export promotion and investment support sponsorship programs.

Providing utilities at preferential prices includes programs that provide electricity, water and other utilities to businesses at preferential prices.

Investigation procedure

Mandatory Defendant Selection

To date, the US Department of Commerce has not issued a Questionnaire on Quantity and Value (Q&V) for both anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases to collect information for mandatory defendant selection.

Enterprises need to proactively register for an IA ACCESS account at the US Department of Commerce's electronic information portal (https://access.trade.gov/login.aspx) to update information on enterprises required to respond to the Q&V Questionnaire and submit relevant documents and materials to the US Investigation Agency. Note that the response deadline can be extended. Enterprises that do not receive the Q&V Questionnaire but export this item to the US during the investigation period still need to respond to be calculated separately.

As a rule, the US Department of Commerce will base on the Q&V Questionnaire responses and US Customs data to select 2 mandatory respondents (usually the largest Vietnamese exporters according to US Customs data during the investigation period). The mandatory respondents will be investigated and their own dumping/subsidy margins will be determined.

Register for separate tax rates (only applicable to anti-dumping cases)

In anti-dumping investigations, if a company is not selected as a mandatory respondent, it must file a separate application for a duty rate. The company must demonstrate that it operates independently and is not subject to government control in both legal and practical terms. The separate duty rate is the weighted average of the dumping margins of the mandatory respondents (excluding zero margins, de minimis margins, and margins based on adverse available data). The deadline for filing a separate application for a duty rate is 30 days from the date of initiation.

In case the enterprise does not submit a separate application for tax rate or the enterprise has submitted but it is not accepted, the dumping margin for the enterprises will be the common dumping margin (usually equal to the alleged margin).

Answer the Survey Questionnaire

Once a mandatory respondent is identified, the U.S. Department of Commerce will issue a Questionnaire to the mandatory respondent. In countervailing duty cases, the U.S. Department of Commerce will issue a supplementary Questionnaire to the Government. The response period is typically 30 days from the date of issuance of the initial questionnaire (with possible extensions). The U.S. Department of Commerce may issue additional questionnaires with shorter response periods.

Some key timelines for the investigation are as follows:

Some recommendations for response

The Trade Defense Department recommends: The Vietnam Pulp and Paper Association updates information to enterprises producing and exporting products under investigation.

For related manufacturing and exporting enterprises: Continue to closely monitor the developments of the case; proactively study and master the regulations, procedures, and processes of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations of the United States; diversify export markets and products.

Cooperate fully with the US investigation agency throughout the course of the case. Any act of non-cooperation or incomplete cooperation may result in the US investigation agency using available evidence to the disadvantage or applying the highest anti-dumping and countervailing duties to the enterprise.

Actively register for an IA ACCESS account at the US Department of Commerce's electronic information portal (https://access.trade.gov/login.aspx) to update information and submit documents and materials related to the US Investigation Agency; Regularly coordinate and update information with the Trade Defense Department to receive timely support.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/hoa-ky-khoi-xuong-dieu-tra-kep-chong-ban-pha-gia-chong-tro-cap-san-pham-duc-bang-soi-tu-viet-nam-356273-356273.html