HÀ NỘI — The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has initiated antidumping and countervailing duty petitions on steel concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) from Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt and Việt Nam, reported the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam.

The investigation focuses on products classified primarily under HS codes 7213.10.0000, 7214.20.0000 and 7228.30.8010 of the Harmonised Tariff Schedule of the United States.

The petition was filed by the Rebar Trade Action Coalition and its individual members, which alleges that exporters from these countries have engaged in dumping practices and received subsidies.

Eight Vietnamese exporters are named in the petition for their role in producing and exporting the investigated steel products.

The proposed timeframe for the anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation is set for the calendar year 2024. Additionally, the injury investigation period covers the past three years, from 2022 to 2024.

According to data cited by the petitioner and sourced from the US International Trade Commission, Việt Nam exported approximately 78,663 tonnes of rebar to the US between April 2024 and March 2025. This volume represents about 8.2 per cent of the US import market share for these products.

The petition claims an alleged anti-dumping margin of 115.4 per cent on Vietnamese exports. Since the US classifies Việt Nam as a non-market economy, the DOC plans to calculate dumping margins using surrogate values from a third country.

In this case, Egypt has been proposed as the surrogate country due to its comparable economic development level and significant number of manufacturers of the same product.

While the plaintiff did not specify a subsidy margin, they allege that Vietnamese producers have benefitted from 39 distinct government subsidy programmes. These subsidies are said to have caused or threaten to cause significant injury to the US domestic manufacturing industry.

The Trade Remedies Authority advises domestic manufacturers and exporters involved in the reinforced concrete steel sector to closely monitor the progress of the investigation.

They recommend firms make proactive efforts to understand US regulations and investigative procedures, and prepare strategic responses in case the DOC officially initiates an investigation.

Manufacturers and exporters are urged to fully cooperate with US investigation authorities throughout the process. Failure to cooperate or incomplete cooperation could lead to unfavourable decisions by the US authorities, including the application of the highest possible duty rates based on available evidence. BIZHUB/VNS