Vietnam is a big footwear exporter

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), Vietnam exported 138,467 electric bikes to the EU in the first 11 months of 2018, worth 66.9 million euros, an increase of 47.4 percent in quantity and 22.6 percent in value in comparison with the same period 2017.

“This may lead to the risk that the EC would conduct anti-dumping duty avoidance investigations against some Vietnamese exporters, which would affect true enterprises,” MOIT’s Trade Remedies Department warned.

In late 2018, the EC imposed anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties against electric bikes imported from China to the EU market. The duties are 18.8-79.3 percent, valid for five years, commencing from January 18, 2019.

MOIT discussed with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry (VCCI) how to strengthen inspection and supervision of the Vietnamese C/O (certificate of origin) granted to electric bike exports. The ministry was reminded of the possibility of C/O forging.

Meanwhile, the Import/Export Department has warned that more trade fraud incidents have occurred via forging Vietnamese origin for exports.

The department said foreign goods tend to ‘borrow’ Vietnamese origin to illegally enjoy benefits from the preferential tariffs granted to Vietnam as a member of FTAs. With forged Vietnamese origin, the goods can bear preferential tariffs or avoid anti-dumping duties set by import countries on some sources of imports.

Nguyen Xuan Thanh from Fulbright University has warned about the risk that Chinese goods will transit in Vietnam, or ‘undergo fake processing activities’, to obtain  Vietnamese origin before going to the US.

He said that if the trade fraud cannot be controlled, this will serve as an excuse for the US to apply sanctions on Vietnam.

In the US market, Vietnam is ranked fifth in countries with a trade surplus with the US. The other four include China, the EU, Mexico and Japan, three of which, except Japan, have import taxes imposed by the US. 

“If the US agencies discover fraud, misfortune will come, not only to enterprises, but also to groups of products,” Thanh said.

“If the US applies sanctions, the impact on Vietnam’s economy would be much more negative than the other countries,” he added.

Lawyer Tran Huy Huynh, chair of the Vietnam International Arbitration Center, said foreign enterprises may exploit the Vietnamese origin to get benefits. The origin forging occurred in the past when Vietnam was granted GSP (Generalized System of Preferences).

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