Faced with pressure from imported anti-corrosion steel coils from South Africa, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has warned businesses to proactively cooperate and expand export markets in case this country decides to impose safeguard duties.
On February 19, the Department of Trade Remedies (Ministry of Industry and Trade) officially informed about South Africa’s decision to conduct a safeguard investigation on imported anti-corrosion steel coils, and at the same time issued detailed warnings to Vietnamese businesses exporting to this market.
According to the Department of Trade Defense, on February 17, this unit received information that the South African International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) officially initiated a safeguard investigation on imported corrosion-resistant steel coils.
The investigated goods are corrosion-resistant steel coils classified according to the import commodity codes of the Republic of South Africa: 7210.61.20, 7210.61.30, 7225.92.25 and 7225.92.35.
The plaintiff requesting the investigation is ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (AMSA), the initiation date is February 3, the investigation period is from May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2024.
According to the plaintiffs, the significant global oversupply of corrosion-resistant steel has caused a surge in imports into the SACU bloc (Southern African Customs Union consisting of five member states: South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland) for four reasons.
First, studies show that China has not become a fully fledged market economy as assured to WTO members during negotiations.
Second, China’s economic performance has been declining steadily since 1994. Major steel producers have adopted aggressive export strategies, leading to an oversupply of steel products.
Third, China’s economic growth is slowing significantly and its domestic steel market is shrinking, forcing Chinese producers to increase exports further, at reduced prices, to get rid of excess inventories.
Fourth, countries around the world take urgent actions to increase tariffs and apply trade defense measures to protect the domestic steel industry. It is expected that the increase in imports into SACU is also due to the recent economic downturn in China and the contraction of China’s export markets.
The plaintiff also pointed out initial signs that the domestic manufacturing industry is suffering serious damage such as a decline in output, revenue, profit, market share, etc. in the period from May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2024.
The Trade Defense Department recommends that the Vietnam Steel Association notify member enterprises and recommend participation if necessary. Enterprises should carefully study the petition, notice of initiation and related instructions; study and send comments on the initiation (if any).
Enterprises need to cooperate fully and comprehensively, providing information as requested by ITAC; At the same time, there are solutions to diversify export markets, in case South Africa decides to impose self-defense taxes.
In addition, businesses regularly provide information and exchange situations with the Trade Defense Department to receive timely support.
