The US investigates Vietnamese plywood

The US investigates Vietnamese plywood

The products under investigation mainly belong to HS codes 4412 and 9403.

A plywood manufacturing plant. — Photo thuonghieusanpham.vn

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) is considering an anti-dumping investigation into Vietnamese plywood, potentially placing more than 130 businesses at risk of facing import duties.

The DOC has just received a petition requesting anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations on hardwood and decorative plywood products imported from Việt Nam, China and Indonesia.

The products under investigation mainly belong to HS codes 4412 and 9403.

The proposed period for the anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations is last year, while the period for assessing injury is from 2022 to 2024.

According to the plaintiff's data from the US International Trade Commission (ITC), plywood exports from Việt Nam to the US reached about US$401 million in 2022, decreased to $186 million in 2023, then increased again to $244 million last year, ranking second after Indonesia in the investigated group.

The alleged dumping margin for Việt Nam is from 112.33 per cent - 133.72 per cent, the lowest level among the three countries.

DOC can use Indonesia as a surrogate country to calculate the margin because it considers Việt Nam a non-market economy.

The DOC is expected to decide whether to initiate an investigation within 20 to 40 days from the date the petition was received, meaning a decision will be made on or before June 11 this year.

Following initiation, the ITC will have 45 days to issue a preliminary determination on whether there is a reasonable indication of injury to the domestic industry. If the ITC finds no such injury, the investigation will be terminated. 

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