Vietnam and Thailand are taking a regional approach to address the surge in Chinese steel imports, known as steel dumping. Vietnam's April 2024 imports of hot-rolled steel from China rose 1.5 times to 890,000 tons, doubling last year's volume. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has imposed anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese cold-rolled steel imports, ranging from 4.43% to 25.22%. Thailand, importing between 63 and 70 percent of its steel from China in 2023, is also considering broader anti-dumping measures. Further actions are being contemplated in both countries to mitigate the impact on their domestic steel industries.
Source: Southeast Asia Link
Earlier this week, Southeast Asia Link reported Thailand's Ministry of Commerce is contemplating broadening current anti-dumping measures against Chinese hot-rolled coil steel, which makes up 70% of Thailand's steel consumption.
In 2021, Thailand produced 4.77 million tons of steel, while consumption exceeded 17 million tons, highlighting the heavy import reliance that is strangling domestic steel producers. This is according to statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
In total, over the period China's hot-rolled coil steel imports accounted for 71 percent of the steel imported. During the four-month period of between January and April of this year, 73 percent of the total imported steel came from China, more than double the amount recorded in the same period last year.
The US and EU have also acted against Chinese steel dumping, with the EU imposing duties from 22.1% to 86.5% on specific products to combat market undercutting and industry injury. The U.S. duties have risen as high as 266% depending on the type of steel product.
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Vietnam Could be Next to Object to China's Steel Dumping
In April, Vietnam saw a significant increase in hot rolled steel (HRC) imports from China, with 890,000 tons imported, marking a 1.5 times increase compared to the domestic production volume. This brought the total HRC imported from China to 2.9 million tons by the end of April, a figure that doubled the import volume over the same period last year.
Local steel producers have expressed concerns about the influx of Chinese steel, accusing China of dumping in the Vietnamese market. They have called for an anti-dumping investigation by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to address this issue.
Hoa Phat Steel, a leading voice in the anti-dumping tariff movement, is listed on the Ho Chi Minh City stock exchange and is a popular stock among foreign investors in Vietnam. As of early May, foreign firms owned about a quarter of Hoa Phat Steel's shares.
Previous Actions By Hanoi to Counter the Practice
On December 21, 2020, Decision No. 3390/QD-BCT was issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, upholding an anti-dumping tariff on Chinese cold-rolled steel imports.
The anti-dumping tax rates for these products range from 4.43% to 25.22%, depending on the individual Chinese manufacturers and exporters.
In addition to this, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam initiated an investigation into the practice of dumping wind tower products imported from China on July 25, 2022. This was in response to requests from domestic manufacturing representatives, including CS WIND Vietnam Co., Ltd. and Southern Green Energy and Renewable Energy Co., Ltd. The investigation sought to assess the impact of these imports on the domestic wind tower industry and the causal relationship between the dumping practices and any damage to the production of certain domestic products.
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