Stainless steel production at a factory in northern Việt Nam — VNA/VNS Photo

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has initiated an anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation into corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) imported from Việt Nam, alongside nine other countries.

Thirteen products are under investigation, which are those with the Harmonised System (HS) codes 7210.30, 7210.41, 7210.49, 7210.61, 7210.69, 7210.70, 7210.90, 7212.20, 7212.30, 7212.40, 7212.50, 7212.60, and 7226.99.

The anti-dumping investigation period covers the first six months of 2024, while the countervailing duty investigation focuses on 2023.

The other countries under investigation are Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and South Africa.

These countries, including Việt Nam, are among the top 10 exporters of products that often get investigated, accounting for up to 75 per cent of US imports in 2023.

The alleged dumping margin from the DOC for Việt Nam’s corrosion-resistant steel is 195.23 per cent, higher than the dumping margin cited in the complaint filed by domestic US steel producers.

It is the highest among the 10 countries under investigation.

The DOC intends to use alternative values from the US and Morocco for the ant-dumping investigation, since the US considers Việt Nam to be a non-market economy.

Morocco is the latest country added to the list of surrogate countries issued by the DOC for Việt Nam.

Concerned parties have 30 days to comment on the surrogate country and values before the DOC issues its preliminary findings in the case, which will be on February 12 next year.

As for the subsidy allegations, the DOC has not yet provided any alleged subsidy margin for Việt Nam.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has advised companies under investigation to keep a close watch on the cases’ developments and collaborate with the US authorities throughout. — VNS