Recently, the amount of hot-rolled coil (HRC) steel with a width of 1,900mm or more imported from China into Vietnam has shown signs of unusual increase.

According to customs data, in May, the import volume of this item reached 181,000 tons, an increase of more than 25 times compared to the same period in 2024 (6,831 tons).

Meanwhile, the average import price of wide-width HRC steel in May was 534 USD/ton, down 6% compared to May 2024.

In the first 5 months of this year, the cumulative import volume of HRC steel with widths of 1,900mm or more from China to Vietnam reached 430,000 tons, 12 times higher than the first 5 months of last year. Of which, 2,000mm wide steel accounted for 86.7% of the import volume in the first 5 months of the year.

Hot rolled steel coils imported from China are mainly common and popular steel grades (Q235B, Q355B, SAE 1006, SS400, A36...), imported for use as regular HRC (production of corrugated iron, steel pipes, structural processing,...)

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Imports of wide-gauge HRC steel from China show signs of unusual increase

The unusual increase in import figures shows clear signs of evasion of temporary anti-dumping duties on hot-rolled steel products imported from China, effective from February 2025.

In a related development, on July 26, 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Trade officially investigated and applied anti-dumping measures (CBPG) on a number of hot-rolled steel products originating from India and China.

On February 21, 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a decision on the application of temporary anti-dumping tax on some hot-rolled steel products originating from China. The taxed goods are some flat-rolled, hot-rolled iron, alloy or non-alloy steel products, with a thickness of 1.2-25.4 mm; width not exceeding 1,880 mm, not processed beyond hot rolling;...

Since the Trade Remedies Authority decided to initiate an investigation into the case, the trend of shifting to importing 1,900-2,000mm wide goods from China has begun to take place more and more strongly.

A representative of the Trade Defense Department said on June 19 that there is a phenomenon of large-size HRC steel being imported into Vietnam. This is a product that is not subject to investigation and temporary anti-dumping tax according to the decision in February.

A representative of the Trade Defense Department said that they have made recommendations and sent information to the Customs Department to request increased supervision of the import of hot-rolled steel products with a width greater than 1,880 mm, ensuring accurate declaration and preventing fraud.

According to experts, if there are no timely preventive measures, the trend of importing hot-rolled steel will not only stop at widths of 1,900-2,000mm but also expand to import widths larger than 2,000mm for use as regular hot-rolled steel.

Tax evasion not only nullifies the effectiveness of anti-dumping tax policies but also creates a distorted and unfair competitive environment, potentially posing a risk of systematic trade fraud, directly affecting domestic manufacturing enterprises.

The steel industry giant immediately came up with a solution to 'turn the tables' when the auditor raised doubts. The steel distribution giant continuously maneuvered and successfully negotiated with the real estate giant at the last minute, helping the company turn from a large loss to a profit in 2024 and escape delisting. However, there are still many difficulties.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nhap-khau-thep-hrc-kho-rong-tu-trung-quoc-tang-bat-thuong-2414525.html