Steel firms need import safeguards
Steel firms need import safeguards
Several companies representing the domestic steel industry asked the Viet Nam Competition Authority to apply safeguard measures for their coloured plated steel, also known as galvanised paint-coated steel.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade's authority said in a notice on Tuesday that it received documents from the companies petitioning for safeguards on May 24, without naming them.
The firms said large amounts of cheap steel imports were causing difficulties for local producers of coloured cold-rolled steel sheets, coloured galvanised steel sheets, and black steel sheets.
On Monday, the authority confirmed that the documents were sufficient and valid in accordance with Viet Nam's laws on safeguards in trade.
The agency asked domestic producers and dealers of the aforementioned products to provide more information related to their business profiles, designed capacity and production yields between 2014 and 2016, and any materials and evidence relevant to the case.
The companies are to submit the information to its trade remedy compliance division by June 16.
"This is to serve consideration and assessment of the case so as to decide whether investigations will be carried out, and to guarantee legal rights and interests of enterprises," the agency wrote in the notice.
In a related development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade in early March conducted investigations for imposing anti-dumping duty on plated steel sheet imported from China and South Korea.
According to Phap luat Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (Ho Chi Minh City Law) online, a preliminary conclusion about this case was expected to be announced on June 1, but it was later postponed by 60 days.
Currently, Viet Nam imposes temporary safeguard duties of 23.3 per cent for steel ingots, and 14.2 per cent for long steel products imported from many countries and territories between March 22 and October 7 this year.
