Vietnam's anti-corrosion steel is proposed for dual investigation in the United States

Vietnam's anti-corrosion steel is proposed for "dual" investigation in the United States.

Of the 10 countries and territories proposed for investigation, only Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Vietnam were proposed for dual anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations.

Vietnam's anti-corrosion steel products are proposed for "dual" investigation in the United States.

The products under investigation in this case are corrosion-resistant steel with HS codes 7210.30, 7210.41, 7210.49, 7210.61, 7210.69, 7210.70, 7210.90, 7212.20, 7212.30, 7212.40, 7212.50, 7212.60, and 7226.99.

Ten countries and territories have been recommended for investigation: Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Australia, and South Africa. These are all among the top 10 exporters of the products under investigation to the United States, accounting for up to 75% of US imports in 2023.

Of these, only Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Vietnam were proposed for dual anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations, the remaining countries were only proposed for anti-dumping investigations.

Proposed anti-dumping / anti-subsidy investigation period: 2023. Damage investigation period: 3 years (2021-2023)

The alleged anti-dumping margin for goods exported from Vietnam is 158.83% (the highest among the accused countries). In this case, the plaintiff proposed to use Morocco as a surrogate country because it believes that Morocco has a similar level of economic development to Vietnam and has a significant number of CORE steel producers (Morocco is on the latest list of surrogate countries issued by DOC for Vietnam).

Parties have 30 days to comment on the replacement country before DOC issues its preliminary findings in the case.

The Plaintiff does not allege the magnitude of the subsidy. The Plaintiff alleges that Vietnamese CORE steel producers/exporters have received 26 subsidy programs from the Government , causing material injury or threatening to cause material injury to the US domestic industry.

Specifically, the programs in question fall into the following categories: loan programs, corporate income tax incentive programs, import tax exemption and refund programs, land incentive programs, and programs providing utilities at preferential prices.

According to data from the US International Trade Commission (ITC), in 2023, Vietnam exported 242 million USD of the accused products to the United States, accounting for about 7% of the total market share of CORE steel exports to the United States.

According to US regulations, the procedure for anti-subsidy investigation is as follows:

  Step 1: The Government of the investigated country (Vietnam) consults with the DOC on the Application for Anti-Subsidy Investigation.

Step 2: DOC has 20 days to review the Request for Investigation and issue a decision to initiate/not initiate an investigation, expected on September 25, 2024. In some special cases, DOC may extend this period to a total of 40 days.

Step 3: The ITC has 45 days from the date of receipt of the Request to issue a Preliminary Assessment of Damages. If the ITC's preliminary assessment concludes that no damage was found, the case will be terminated entirely (although this is generally unlikely).

Step 4: DOC has 65 days from the date of initiation to issue a preliminary determination on subsidies.

Step 5: DOC has 75 days from the date of issuance of the Preliminary Determination to Issue a Final Determination on subsidies.

Step 6: The ITC has 45 days from the date of the DOC's Final Subsidy Determination to make its Final Injury Determination.

Step 7: The DOC has 7 days to issue a Subsidy Order (in case a subsidy and injury are determined). (Timelines may be extended).

To best protect the rights and interests of Vietnamese exporting enterprises, the Trade Defense Department recommends that industry associations support notifying enterprises exporting accused products to prepare response plans and handle the case in case the DOC initiates an investigation.

For enterprises producing and exporting related products, it is necessary to closely monitor the next developments of the case; proactively research and master the regulations, procedures, and processes of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations of the United States and plan a suitable counter-suit strategy for the enterprise (in case the DOC initiates an investigation); diversify export markets and products.

Businesses are required to cooperate fully with the US Investigation Agency throughout the course of the case. Any failure to cooperate or insufficient cooperation may result in the US Investigation Agency using available evidence against the business or imposing the highest alleged antidumping and countervailing duties on the business.

At the same time, proactively register for an IA ACCESS account at the DOC's electronic portal ( https://access.trade.gov/login.aspx ) to update information and submit relevant documents and papers to the US Investigation Agency.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/thep-chong-an-mon-cua-viet-nam-bi-de-nghi-dieu-tra-kep-tai-hoa-ky-d224727.html