Businesses have paid more attention to trade defense.
Regarding trade defense work of domestic enterprises in the US market, Mr. Do Ngoc Hung - Commercial Counselor, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in the US said that the US is the main and largest export market of Vietnam in recent times.
According to statistics from the US Department of Commerce, in the first 8 months of 2023, Vietnam's total export turnover to the United States reached about 73 billion USD and the trade surplus was about 66 billion USD, making Vietnam the third largest trade surplus with the United States after China and Mexico.
Export turnover to the United States accounts for about 30% of Vietnam's total export turnover to countries around the world and accounts for more than 30% of the export turnover of ASEAN countries. This shows that Vietnam is always an important and sustainable partner of the United States.
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| Mr. Do Ngoc Hung - Commercial Counselor, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in the United States shared about the positive impacts of the early warning system in trade defense. |
However, looking straight at reality, the Commercial Counselor and Head of the Trade Office in the United States said that exporting enterprises face many risks in trade defense.
According to statistics, the rate of US trade defense cases applied to Vietnam accounts for about 53% of the total number of trade defense cases against Vietnam's export goods.
“ The risks of trade defense are getting bigger and bigger ,” Mr. Hung warned, adding that domestic US businesses are very aware of their rights and tools when imported goods compete fiercely, causing damage and injury to the domestic manufacturing industry. They also know how to use trade defense measures to protect their interests if sued in the US. Therefore, the number of cases has increased in recent times.
In fact, in addition to the US Department of Commerce, other agencies such as the International Trade Commission, US Customs and Border Protection can investigate trade defense cases. In the US, as of October 2023, trade defense cases of Vietnamese export goods accounted for 58/235 trade defense investigation cases, the items are also increasingly expanded, diversified and not our main export industries.
Through market monitoring, the US Trade Office said that Vietnamese export enterprises are increasingly interested in trade defense cases as well as the early warning system.
“ The early warning system is very important , creating conditions for businesses to learn about US legal regulations on trade defense early ” - Commercial Counselor, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in the United States assessed and added that the early warning system provides more time for businesses to prepare the necessary resources to respond to lawsuits when they occur. Because in reality, when sued, Vietnamese businesses have to invest a lot of effort and human resources, time, and even finance to participate throughout the investigation process of the case - usually about 12 months.
On the other hand, according to Mr. Do Ngoc Hung, the early warning system also helps businesses have more time to arrange records, papers, books and documents, especially accounting and import-export documents, to promptly provide verification documents to US authorities if sued.
Trends in defense cases in the coming time
Regarding the trend of trade defense cases in the US market in the coming time for Vietnamese export goods, Mr. Do Ngoc Hung said that in the US there are currently 3 trends, specifically:
First , US agencies are increasingly using anti-tax evasion measures to apply to imported goods, for the following reasons: Faster investigation time and simpler investigation requirements; The applied tax rate is often very high and may not be sued because the WTO has not yet specifically regulated this content. Therefore, the group of goods with a high risk of being sued is often the group of goods that have been investigated by the US and applied trade defense measures before with other countries.
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| Vietnamese export enterprises are increasingly interested in trade defense cases as well as early warning systems. Photo: VNA |
Second, the US Department of Commerce has recently initiated investigations on its own. Previously, most cases were initiated by a complaint filed by a domestic manufacturer, but in recent times, the US Department of Commerce has also initiated a number of cases without a complaint from a US business.
However, Mr. Do Ngoc Hung said that if the US Department of Commerce initiates it, it tends to be products related to national security issues.
For example, in 2018, the US Department of Commerce, pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, considered steel and aluminum products to be related to energy security issues. If the US Department of Commerce initiates an investigation on its own, it will usually not focus on consumer goods.
“ The trend is favorable on the one hand, helping domestic enterprises to be able to warn in advance and prepare more systematically, with investment in monitoring resources and time for the warned items being sued; but it will also cause difficulties in handling the case because these cases are often very complicated ” - Commercial Counselor, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in the United States commented.
Increasing competition in quality and technology
For the US market, to maintain advantages as well as limit risks when exporting to this market, Mr. Do Ngoc Hung said that businesses need to proactively have time to prepare officially as well as fully prepare documents, information, records, books, and papers because from a certain perspective, businesses are the ones who understand their products better than anyone else.
Second , it is necessary to closely coordinate with the Department of Trade Defense (Ministry of Industry and Trade) and Industry Associations in monitoring, updating, sharing information and preparing steps in the response process. If included in the list of those at risk of being sued, businesses also need to proactively equip themselves with legal knowledge on trade defense.
Third , to increase sustainable production and export capacity, green export to the US market, domestic export enterprises need to consider investing in research to increase the value content of products. Focus on reducing dependence on price competition and shifting to competition on quality and technology, as well as ensuring traceability of input materials for product production.
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