The Vietnamese government has appealed to the Philippines’ Tariff Commission to exclude Vietnam-based companies from three safeguard investigations pertaining to metal product imports, according to media reports.
The imports under investigation include aluminum-zinc sheets, coils and strips; pre-painted galvanized iron and pre-painted aluminium zinc and galvanized iron sheets, coils & strips.
Vietnamese Trade Remedies Authority states that the Philippines should act in accordance to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) norms levied for such anti-dumping investigations. This, especially since Vietnam’s exports to the country were not considerable and were eligible for exclusion from such measures, as per WTO rules.
The economy in Vietnam is already subjected to COVID-19 stress. Adding to the woes of the country’s steel industry are anti-dumping duties levied by many countries.
Duties and investigations against Vietnamese exports in 2020
| Month | Country | Product | Determination |
| February | Thailand | Iron steel piles originating or imported from Vietnam | 6.97-51.61pc |
| March | Malaysia | Initiation of investigation on galvanised steel | Dumping margin of up to 39.27pc |
| March | Canada | Corrosion-resistant steel | 36.3-91.8pc |
| March | Australia | Initiation of investigation on steel pipes | – |
| May | US | Tax evasion investigation into stainless steel sheet products imports from Vietnam | – |