Cheap Chinese H-shaped steel is still flooding into Vietnam in large quantities.

Consumption demand decreased due to many challenges from domestic and foreign impacts such as the continuous downward trend of steel prices in the international market, strong fluctuations of the USD, and the weakening of the domestic real estate and construction industries.

In this deteriorating market context, the number of imported goods has skyrocketed. Specifically, if in the first half of 2022, the amount of H-shaped steel imported from China was 10,671 tons, then in the second half of 2022, the import volume increased sharply, reaching 37,658 tons for the whole year. In 2023, it continued to skyrocket to 55,674 tons. In the first 3 months of 2024 alone, the amount of this product imported from China reached 16,724 tons.

Because the influx of low-priced imports from China may pose potential risks such as disruption of market order and consumer safety, the Vietnamese government has imposed anti-dumping (AD) duties on low-priced H-shaped steel products imported from China to protect the market and prevent unfair price competition. However, the influx of low-priced H-shaped steel products from China continues to increase. Currently, Chinese exporters (Jinxi) are requesting the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade to review the anti-dumping duty rate with the aim of reducing the duty.

* Current anti-dumping tax rates for H-shaped steel originating from China: 22.09% (Jinxi Group), 31.24% (Rizhao Group), 33.51% (other exporters)

The flow of cheap imports from China is disrupting Vietnam's market order and negatively affecting the operations of steel enterprises. In this situation, the sales volume of H-shaped steel (domestic production) of Posco Yamato Vina Steel Joint Stock Company (PYVina), a typical steel producer in the region, has decreased to 208,000 tons in 2022, 195,000 tons in 2023 and 39,000 tons in the first quarter of 2024. Recently, PYVina also expressed great concern when sending a letter to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) about the increasing import of H-shaped steel from China.

Vietnam's construction industry has been growing strongly in the past decade, bringing a new look to urban areas. However, this development depends heavily on high-quality construction materials produced domestically. In particular, H-shaped steel is widely used and plays an important role in the country's construction industry because it provides a unique combination of superior durability allowing for heavy loads, material savings and flexibility in open-space construction designs.

Participating in many key national projects, domestic large-sized steel manufacturers (such as PYVina) have been able to meet market demand with high-quality products at reasonable prices for the 500KV Circuit 3 power transmission line (large-sized angle steel), the T3 Terminal project - Tan Son Nhat airport (U steel) as well as providing H-shaped steel as supporting structural steel in the construction of mountain tunnels of highway projects. Currently, PYVina is researching and developing other new products such as Inverted Angle steel for the shipbuilding industry, or rail steel for domestic and foreign railway projects. This proves that the domestic manufacturing industry has been doing its job well, helping to reduce dependence on cheap imported goods with difficult-to-control quality.

H-shaped steel plays an undeniable role in the economy. However, in the face of the steel industry facing the challenge of excess capacity in China and the world, Vietnam is also considering creating a healthy competitive environment in the domestic market, while ensuring the security of strategic material sources and sustainable development of the construction industry that has met capacity and quality standards. Only by protecting the manufacturing industry will the government contribute to building a solid foundation for the independent and sustainable development of the Vietnamese construction industry. High-quality domestic H-shaped steel will ensure the progress and quality of key construction projects, while promoting the development of the domestic construction materials industry.

According to the representative of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), after receiving the Official Letter from PYVina regarding the request of Chinese companies to review the anti-dumping tax on H-shaped steel originating from China, the Association will give opinions to relevant agencies, departments and sectors regarding these unfair competition acts. Accordingly, the Association will always support domestic enterprises and manufacturers, protect them from unfair acts, and create all favorable conditions for them to maintain and develop production and business. From there, the Vietnamese steel industry in general and H-shaped steel in particular will become increasingly stronger, freeing themselves from dependence on imported goods with difficult-to-control quality.

The Association believes that Vietnamese State Agencies will always protect domestic production and business enterprises with a fair and healthy competitive environment.

H-shaped steel lines from Korea and Japan are also increasing.

Recently, in addition to the trend of Chinese H-shaped steel still flooding into Vietnam, a large amount of H-shaped steel from Korea and Japan has also been imported into Vietnam. From January to April 2024, 3,437 tons of H-shaped steel were imported from Korea and 4,701 tons from Japan, up 122% and 788% respectively over the same period last year. In particular, H-shaped steel originating from Korea was imported in large quantities to Vietnam after switching to Boron-added alloy steel to avoid the 10% tax rate. Therefore, to prevent the import of products that threaten people's safety and prevent sophisticated tax evasion, Vietnam Standards (QCVN) need to be implemented as soon as possible.

South Korea has banned the use of H-shaped steel products containing more than 0.0008% boron, but in Vietnam, most H-shaped steel exports are switched to alloy steel to avoid taxes.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thep-hinh-h-trung-quoc-gia-re-van-tran-ve-viet-nam-voi-luong-lon-185240521175145827.htm