Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The anti-dumping duties imposed on stainless steel hasnot created a monopoly in the market, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade(MoIT).

Theministry’s Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV) has said that without theanti-dumping measures and with the massive increase in imports to Vietnam, thedomestic steel industry will struggle to survive and develop.

Theannouncement was made in response to reports that the duties levied on importedstainless steel had created a monopoly.

Theanti-dumping duty is one form of trade defence allowed by the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) for its members to apply in the case of dumped imports fromforeign countries causing significant damage to the domestic manufacturing industry.

On May 6,2013, the MoIT received an application for a dossier requesting a final reviewfrom a manufacturer representing the domestic industry to investigate thedumping of stainless steel imports from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan(China).

After ayear-long investigation and cooperation with a third country to compare prices,the ministry concluded that enterprises from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, andTaiwan exported their products to Vietnam at very low prices to unfairlycompete with Vietnamese producers.

Therefore,the ministry on September 5, 2014 decided to levy the anti-dumping duties.

Accordingto the Vietnam Steel Association, the country now has some 10 cold-rolledstainless steel producers. Of which, some producers have mostly served internaldemands to produce steel pipes, water bottles and other products and notselling to the market.

Lastyear, stainless steel outputs of POSCO VST accounted for less than 50 percentof the industry’s total output including internal consumption. The country’sstainless steel capacity would be increased by 400,000-500,000 tonnes per yearas some factories would become operational, such as Nguyen Minh and Viet Quang.

Thestainless steel products from other countries which do not face anti-dumpingduties have still been imported into Vietnam.

Statisticsfrom the General Department of Customs show that stainless steel has continuedto be imported from the four countries and territories as well as others sincethe application of the duty.

The totalimported amount of stainless steel has increased from the period beforeapplying the duty from countries such as the Republic of Korea, Japan andThailand. Vietnamese buyers therefore have more choices in addition to localproducts.

In theperiod from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, the imports of stainless steelaccounted for up to 57.2 percent of the country’s total consumption. Of which,imports from countries which did not face anti-dumping taxes made up 68.5 percentwhile those from local producers accounted for 42.8 percent.

Theministry said this was the reason there was no foundation to conclude that thelocal stainless steel industry or a domestic producer has a monopoly on theproduct.

Inaddition, with the duty levy, the price difference between local and importedstainless steel has been narrowed. The selling prices of POSCO VST’s stainlesssteel have always been higher than those of local producers as its products arein the higher quality segment. However, the difference has been also graduallynarrowed.

POSCOVST’s market share in stainless steel has not increased sharply since theanti-dumping levy. Meanwhile, market shares of other domestic manufacturershave been on the rise.

There wasno evidence that the application of anti-dumping measures from the ministryincreased POSCO VST's position in the market of cold-rolled stainless steel.

TRAV saidafter applying the anti-dumping duties in October 2014, the local stainlesssteel sector has recovered and witnessed growth.

In thepast, the market had the participation of POSCO VST and some other small scalecompanies. The market now has participation of many big firms.

Duringthe investigation and application of the measures, the ministry considered theexemption for cold-rolled stainless steel products as input materials thatcould not be produced domestically to ensure consumers’ interests.

Accordingto statistics, stainless steel of China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan hasbeen investigated by anti-dumping or anti-subsidies groups around the worldsuch as the US, the European Union (EU), Brazil, Mexico, India, Turkey andEurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

TheMoIT’s investigation and application of anti-dumping duties on importedstainless steel have followed regulations in the Law of Foreign Trade Managementand WTO. The duty has been necessary to maintain an equal competitiveenvironment between local and foreign businesses, contributing to promotingcompetition in the local market as well as attracting the participation of manymanufacturers. It also ensures customers have more choices between locally producedand imported products.-VNS/VNA