From billion-dollar export items to lawn mowers, bags, paper plates, staplers... are also being investigated.

Tra fish and basa fish are agricultural products under trade defense investigation by the US - Photo: THAO THUONG

On the morning of September 30, the Ministry of Industry and Trade held a trade promotion meeting with the trade office system with the topic "Recommendations related to anti-subsidy investigations on Vietnamese export goods".

The number of cases and items investigated is increasing.

According to Ms. Truong Thuy Linh, Deputy Director of the Trade Defense Department, Vietnam has faced 259 trade defense investigations (including anti-subsidy, anti-dumping, and self-defense). The number of cases has been increasing since 2011 and this year alone, 15 cases have been handled.

Of these, anti-dumping cases were investigated the most with 141 cases (accounting for 55%), with many products being investigated in double-blind manner, being investigated for both anti-dumping and anti-subsidy.

According to Ms. Linh, the investigation market is expanding with 25 countries. Of which, the US and EU make the most investigation decisions.

Notably, the investigated items are also increasingly diverse. From items with high turnover of billions of USD, to even low turnover items such as lawn mowers, paper bags, paper plates, staplers are also subject to tariffs and trade defense investigations.

At the same time, the trend of investigation is more strict. Goods are investigated simultaneously with multiple anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures. Foreign agencies have made more stringent investigation requirements in terms of content and time, especially anti-subsidy investigations.

In addition, the scope of investigation is increasingly expanding. For example, in anti-circumvention investigations, an item has been investigated for tax imposition, but the same item is produced and exported from Vietnam with low added value to enjoy tax, there is a risk of being investigated for anti-circumvention.

According to Ms. Linh, the investigation also applies many strict regulations, causing difficulties for Vietnam's exports. Some countries do not consider Vietnam a market economy . Therefore, in the investigation, they often choose equivalent countries to calculate subsidy and anti-dumping taxes, causing the tax rate to be high.

Why are exports to the US investigated the most?

Ms. Linh commented that trade defense investigations are a normal trend in the world . Therefore, when trade defense cases occur, relevant parties such as the Government, relevant ministries and localities, associations, industries and businesses... need to coordinate closely to have response measures.

Vietnam Trade Counselor in the US Do Ngoc Hung said that the US has an annual trade deficit of about 1,000 billion USD. Of which, Vietnam is one of the three countries with the highest trade surplus in the US, just behind China and Mexico.

To date, the US has investigated 66 cases related to Vietnamese export products. The main products include steel, wood, agricultural products, shrimp, catfish, and honey. Since the beginning of this year, there has been an average of one investigation per month, with 7 cases involving solar panels, shrinkable steel, paper plates, etc., and every year, Vietnamese export products are reviewed.

“The rapid growth of defense shows that Vietnam is always a potential partner in trade defense cases, within the scope and sights of the US,” Mr. Hung said.

Mr. Hung suggested that when Vietnamese enterprises are investigated, they need to coordinate with the trade office, provide information on questionnaires and the investigation agency. The trade office will proactively coordinate with law consulting firms, proactively provide timely and effective information to enterprises, and continue to promote exports to this market.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tu-mat-hang-xuat-khau-ti-usd-den-may-cat-co-tui-dia-giay-dap-ghim-cung-bi-dieu-tra-20240930124000115.htm