With the theme "Recommendations related to anti-subsidy investigations on Vietnamese exports", the September 2024 Trade Promotion Conference with the Vietnamese Trade Offices Abroad system was held in person and online under the chairmanship of Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long.
Vietnamese goods are under increasing pressure from trade defense.
In the context of many Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between Vietnam and other countries/regions coming into effect, Vietnam is becoming a highly open economy and increasingly integrating more deeply into the international economy. Many manufacturing/export industries of Vietnam are making remarkable progress, and Vietnam's export turnover has continuously grown strongly in recent times.
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| Trade Promotion Conference with the Vietnamese Trade Office System Abroad chaired by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long. Photo: PC |
Specifically, in the first 8 months of 2024, the total preliminary export turnover of goods reached 265.09 billion USD, up 15.8% over the same period last year. In addition to the specific advantages of a developing country, such as cheap labor and low production costs, the fact that Vietnam's export goods increasingly meet international quality standards makes Vietnamese goods a major threat to the domestic manufacturing industry of many importing countries.
Therefore, to limit damage to their domestic manufacturing industries, many countries are increasingly active in using trade defense tools, including anti-dumping measures, anti-subsidy measures and safeguards, on Vietnamese export goods (in some countries, such as the United States, a fourth tool, called "anti-trade defense tax evasion measures", is also used to prevent acts of changing the origin of export goods subject to anti-dumping and anti-subsidy taxes to "evade" taxes).
Speaking at the conference, Ms. Truong Thuy Linh, Deputy Director of the Department of Trade Defense (Ministry of Industry and Trade) pointed out 5 characteristics in foreign investigations of Vietnamese goods.
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| Ms. Truong Thuy Linh, Deputy Director of the Department of Trade Defense (Ministry of Industry and Trade). Photo PC |
Firstly , the investigation market is expanding. In addition to the fact that most of the major traditional export markets have initiated investigations into our country's goods, the number of cases conducted by ASEAN countries has also increased, and some countries that have never investigated or rarely investigated our country, such as Mexico, South Africa, and Taiwan (China), have also begun investigating Vietnam;
Second , the scope of products under investigation is increasingly diverse. It is not limited to items with large export turnover such as shrimp, pangasius, steel, wood, solar panels, etc., but is expanded to products with medium and small export value and volume such as lawn mowers, honey, paper plates, staplers, etc.
Third , the trend of stricter investigations. Foreign investigation agencies are increasingly making high demands in many aspects on the government and investigated enterprises (response deadline, request for additional information, difficulty in requesting extensions, etc.). For example, in the case of upholstered chairs, the Department of Trade Defense sent a letter requesting the Canadian investigation agency to extend the response time. However, the Canadian investigation agency did not agree. In addition, Canada also requested information on the raw materials used to produce sofa products. Or like the Philippines, the investigation agency of this country requested that the documents of Vietnamese enterprises before submitting to the Philippines must be consularized page by page.
Fourth , the scope of investigation is increasingly expanding, including new contents such as product scope investigation and anti-circumvention investigation of trade defense measures.
Fifth , the trade defense tax rate may be pushed up due to market economy issues: Because some countries such as the United States have not recognized Vietnam as a market economy, they use the costs of a third country to calculate normal value in anti-dumping cases.
Vietnamese trade offices abroad play an important role
In the process of protecting the rights of Vietnamese manufacturing/exporting enterprises in each trade defense case, the leaders of the Trade Defense Department realized that the outcome of the appeal depends largely on the quality of coordination between the parties involved. In particular, the role of Vietnamese trade offices abroad is extremely important.
Specifically, the Vietnamese Trade Office abroad plays a role in capturing information about the stages, developments, and results of the case and promptly notifying home. In many cases, as soon as receiving information about the investigation agency receiving valid documents from domestic enterprises, the Vietnamese Trade Office sent information to the Vietnamese Government, notifying the possibility that the other country would conduct an investigation into this item. Thanks to the early warning from the Trade Office, the Vietnamese Government and the business community related to the case have been mentally prepared, and have more time to plan for appeal when the case occurs.
In addition, the Vietnam Trade Office abroad also represents the Ministry of Industry and Trade to discuss and present the arguments and viewpoints of the Vietnamese Government on the conclusions of the investigation agency.
Expressing her gratitude for the support of Vietnamese Trade Offices abroad, Ms. Truong Thuy Linh emphasized: “ In the face of the prospect that lawsuits in the field of Trade Defense will increase in the coming time, we hope that the Trade Office will continue to accompany us and support us more through activities such as continuing to support the provision of information to the Trade Defense Department, early warning of goods at risk of being investigated for Trade Defense, supporting the clarification of investigation regulations of the Government of the importing country, supporting the presentation of opinions and views of the Vietnamese Government on the views and conclusions of the investigation agency... ".
According to the Trade Defense Department, the number of foreign trade defense cases against Vietnam's exports has been increasing in recent times. During the period 2001-2011, the number of foreign cases investigating and applying trade defense measures against Vietnam's exports was only 50 cases. Since then, the number of trade defense cases has increased by 207 cases. Of the total 257 cases that Vietnam has faced so far, there are 141 anti-dumping investigations, 37 anti-circumvention investigations, 27 anti-subsidy investigations and 52 safeguard investigations. 2020 was the year we had to handle the most trade defense cases, with 39 cases. As of the beginning of the year, the Trade Defense Department has been handling 14 new cases. |
Source: https://congthuong.vn/giao-ban-xuc-tien-thuong-mai-voi-he-thong-thuong-vu-viet-nam-o-nuoc-ngoai-thang-9-349220.html
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