Operate trade defense early warning system to protect exports

(Chinhphu.vn) - Faced with increasing risks from trade defense investigations into exported goods, the Department of Trade Defense (Ministry of Industry and Trade) has officially put into operation an early warning system to support businesses and industries in proactively responding.

The scope of investigated products is increasingly expanding, not limited to traditional products such as steel, cement, and fiber - Illustrative photo

According to the Trade Defense Department, in the first 5 months of 2025, Vietnam's export goods have faced 9 new trade defense investigations, including 7 anti-dumping investigations and 2 safeguard cases, from 8 different markets. At the same time, this agency is also handling 33 cases that have lasted since 2024 along with many related tax reviews. In addition, some export items have been submitted for investigation even though they have not been officially initiated.

The worrying point is that the scope of investigated products is expanding, not only limited to traditional products such as steel, cement, and fiber, but also including new products such as corrugated paper, hard capsule shells, semi-trailers, etc. In particular, markets that used to rarely apply defense measures to Vietnam such as South Africa, Egypt, Brazil, etc. have now begun to increase investigations.

Not only have the number of investigations increased, they have also become more technically complex. Many countries such as Canada include the "non-market economy " factor in their investigations, while Mexico and Brazil use surrogate values from third countries to calculate dumping margins. These methods often result in high tariffs that do not accurately reflect the costs and competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises.

In this situation, an early warning system was deployed to closely monitor trade activities and signs of investigation from major export markets. This system collects and analyzes data from many sources, including export data, information from more than 60 Vietnamese Trade Offices abroad, thereby detecting early signs of trade conflicts or risks of being subject to defense measures such as anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, self-defense, etc.

The system is closely monitoring hundreds of export items to key markets such as the United States, the EU, Canada, India, Australia and several Southeast Asian countries. About 300 high-risk items have been identified and placed on the warning list.

To improve response effectiveness, the Trade Defense Department will continue to organize training programs and specialized seminars for each industry and each locality. At the same time, the list of products at risk of investigation will be regularly updated so that businesses can promptly adjust their production and export strategies, limit risks and protect their legitimate interests in the international market.

Anh Tho

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/van-hanh-he-thong-canh-bao-som-phong-ve-thuong-mai-de-bao-ve-hang-xuat-khau-102250721144839419.htm