On July 24, the Government Office sent a document to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Science and Technology regarding research and recommendations on developing regulations to manage the quality of domestically produced steel and steel imported into Vietnam.
Accordingly, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested the two ministries to study and resolve the recommendations of the Vietnam Steel Association according to their authority, and report to the Prime Minister on issues beyond their authority and the results of resolving the recommendations before July 28.
Previously, the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) sent a document to the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Science and Technology about the recent complicated developments in the steel market.
According to the association, crude steel production in the first 6 months is estimated at 9.033 million tons, down 20.11% over the same period in 2022. Consumption is estimated at 9.153 million tons, down 15.35% over the same period in 2022.
In the first 6 months of 2023, production and consumption of finished steel products of all kinds decreased by 20% and 18% respectively.
Steel export value reached 3.45 billion USD, down 16% compared to the same period in 2022. Meanwhile, in the first 5 months of 2023, finished steel imports of all kinds to Vietnam were about 4.6 million tons with a value of more than 3.93 billion USD.
Vietnam has a trade deficit of more than 220 thousand tons, with a trade deficit of 480 million USD. Notably, the amount of steel imported from China into Vietnam is showing a strong upward trend again.
The association said that countries around the world are increasingly applying technical barriers and trade defense measures to protect domestic production. Technical barriers are clearly applied in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, India, Australia, the UK, etc.
Specifically, products exported to these countries are required to have a certificate of compliance with the quality standards of the importing country. The purpose of the licenses is to prevent the import of poor quality products and strengthen control over imported steel.
Meanwhile, in Vietnam, almost all steel products imported into Vietnam have an import tax of 0%. Furthermore, trade defense measures such as steel billet self-defense have been removed, other steel products such as galvanized steel, color-coated steel, steel pipes, prestressed steel, etc. are not subject to any trade defense measures.
At the same time, steel products are not included in the list of group 2 goods according to the decision of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, so they are not subject to specialized inspection of product quality.
Therefore, the Vietnam Steel Association recommends that the Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Science and Technology consider developing processes and procedures for inspecting the quality of steel imported into Vietnam. Accordingly, imported steel must have a Certificate of Compliance with Vietnamese Quality Standards before being imported.
Along with that, strengthen investigation and apply appropriate trade defense measures to limit unfair competition of steel products and protect the domestic steel industry.
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