HCMC – Vietnam should impose anti-dumping sanctions on certain imported cold-rolled stainless steel products to protect domestic enterprises from losses, said Pham Chi Cuong, former chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association.

The Vietnam Competition Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade will consult relevant agencies over the possibility of levying anti-dumping tariffs on cold-rolled stainless steel imported from China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan early next month.

Earlier, an investigation into the anti-dumping case was conducted after two Vietnamese companies including Posco VST Co. Ltd. and Hoa Binh Inox Joint Stock Company filed a lawsuit against cold-rolled stainless steel imports from China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan.

In December 2013, the ministry decided that producers from China were subject to anti-dumping margins from 6.45% to 6.99%, from Indonesia 12.03%, Malaysia 14.38% and Taiwan 13.23% to 30.73%. The anti-dumping duties have been applied within 120 days since the decision took effect.

Some 18 enterprises that import stainless steel materials from the four markets immediately objected to the decision. They said the anti-dumping tariffs would prevent them from accessing material sources with competitive prices and push them into hardship.

However, Cuong told the Daily that the nation should levy the duties as there is enough evidence that domestic steel producers are suffering material injury.

Vietnamese steel producers have faced many anti-dumping cases and this is the first time local enterprises have proposed the anti-dumping duties against foreign firms.

The current tariffs on those items range from 0% to 10%. The zero tax is for cold-rolled stainless steel produced in China and ASEAN countries in line with the commitment to the free trade agreements Vietnam has signed.

Meanwhile, the Indonesia Anti-Dumping Committee (KADI) has just initiated a preliminary investigation into cold rolled steel coil imported from Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea as requested by PT Krakatau Steel, Indonesia’s biggest steel maker.

KADI has placed anti-dumping tariffs between 13.5-36.6% on the Vietnamese steel product since December 2012.