The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has decided to levy import tax on steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to collect anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) cash deposits on imports of corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate at the rate of 199.43% and 39.05%, respectively. 

CBP will also collect AD and CVD cash deposits on imports of cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate at the rate of 199.76% and 256.44%, respectively. 

The cash deposit rates were determined earlier in the AD and CVD investigations on cold-rolled steel and CORE from China.

“Cash deposits will apply to all unliquidated entries on or after November 4, 2016, the date the inquiries were initiated. Importers and exporters of Vietnamese merchandise produced from substrate originating in Vietnam or a third country have the option of seeking an exemption from cash deposits by certifying that the substrate originated outside of China,” DoC said.

It added that shipments of CORE from Vietnam to the United States increased from US$2 million to US$80 million, and those of cold-rolled steel increased from US$9 million to US$215 million after preliminary duties were imposed on Chinese products in 2015. 

The inquiries were conducted in response to requests from US domestic producers of CORE and cold-rolled steel, including Steel Dynamics, Inc., California Steel Industries, AK Steel Corporation, ArcelorMittal USA LLC, Nucor Corporation and US Steel Corporation.

The DoC’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing US trade laws and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international law and is based solely on factual evidence.

According to Chu Duc Khai, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Steel Association, Vietnam’s export volume of steel is quite small compared to the US’s volume of import.

The country last year exported 4.7 million tonnes of steel to foreign countries, earning a revenue of US$3.1 billion. Of this, 567,000 tonnes of steel were exported to the US, occupying 12% of Vietnam’s total export.

This volume accounted for just 1.67% of the US’s steel imports. In 2016, the US imported 31 million tonnes of steel and in 2017, it imported 34 million tonnes, said Khai.

VNS