According to data from the customs agency, in May 2024, hot-rolled steel (HRC) imports into Vietnam surged, reaching more than 1.1 million tons, up 20% from the previous month. Notably, imports from China accounted for 75%, totaling over 830,000 tons.

The volume of HRC steel imported in May represented 192% of domestic production.

In the first five months of this year, businesses spent $2.96 billion to import over 5 million tons of hot-rolled steel, amounting to 179% of the total domestic HRC production. Of this, imports from China accounted for 3.694 million tons, with a value of $2.12 billion.

At the end of April, the Government Office sent a document to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance, relaying Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai’s directive to address the sharp increase in hot-rolled steel imports, mainly from China and India.

The Deputy Prime Minister tasked the Ministry of Industry and Trade with leading a review, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies, to implement timely and effective measures to protect the legitimate interests of the domestic manufacturing industry, in accordance with international practices and a fair competitive environment.

Investigation into anti-dumping measures

On June 14, the Department of Trade Remedies (under the Ministry of Industry and Trade) announced the process of receiving dossiers requesting an investigation into anti-dumping measures on hot-rolled steel products from China.

On March 19, the Department received dossiers from companies representing the domestic manufacturing industry, requesting an investigation into anti-dumping measures on hot-rolled steel products from India and China.

On April 1, the Department issued a notice requesting the submitting parties to supplement their dossiers. The additional information and documents were provided on April 26 and again on May 31, following a second request on May 13.

On June 14, the Department confirmed that the dossier was complete and valid according to the provisions of the law on trade defense.

Next steps

The Department of Trade Defense announced that within 45 days from the date of confirmation of the complete and valid dossier, the investigation agency will appraise the dossier to submit to the Minister of Industry and Trade for consideration to conduct an investigation or not.

The contents of the dossier appraisal include determining the legal representative status of the domestic manufacturing industry of the organization or individual submitting the dossier according to the Law on Foreign Trade Management, and determining evidence of dumping of imported goods causing or threatening to cause significant damage to the domestic industry or significantly hindering the formation of the domestic industry.

To facilitate the appraisal of the dossier and ensure the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises producing and trading goods proposed for investigation, the investigation agency requests domestic enterprises producing and trading similar goods to provide relevant information, including the type of enterprise (production, trade, etc.), design capacity and output of hot-rolled steel products from 2020 to 2023, the company's opinion on the case (agree, disagree, no opinion), and any other documents or evidence related to the case.

The deadline for providing the above information is July 5, 2024.

Hanh Nguyen