Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) began an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese non-alloy cold rolled steel sheet or coil on 3 September, Kallanish notes.

The products under investigation have width less than 1,600mm, and thickness ranging from 0.108mm to 2.55mm. The inquiry covers materials under HS codes 720916.10, 720916.90, 720917.10, 720917.90, 720918.91, 720918.99, 720926.10, 720926.90, 720927.10, 720927.90, 720928.10, 720928.90, 720990.90, 721123.20, 721123.30, 721123.30, 721123.90, 721129.20, 721129.30, 721129.90 and 722550.90.

The scope of the investigation has been reduced from the initial request, Kallanish learns from a source at the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam. This happens after the authority delayed the investigation to ensure it was focussed on goods which are actually produced by domestic mills.

The investigation was requested by three domestic producers, Phu My Flat Steel, Posco Vietnam and Chinese Steel Sumikin Vietnam Joint Stock. The plaintiffs say that steel products imported from China with low prices have damaged Vietnam’s rolled steel industry. To six-digit HS codes, China exported 102,777t of these products to Vietnam in the first seven months of the year, down -26.1% year-on-year.

During the investigation, MoIT will collect public information through questionnaires and contact with market participants. In the early period of investigation, MoIT may also implement provisional anti-dumping duties to prevent harm to the domestic industry.