HCMC – Representatives of 18 enterprises using stainless steel as materials for production have voiced their objection against the Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA)’s initial conclusion about imported stainless steel being dumped in Vietnam.

Local firms have reacted after VCA posted initial findings about cold-rolled stainless steel on its website on Tuesday and proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to impose tax rates of 6.45-30.73%, as covered in the Daily on Wednesday.

The case started in May when Posco VST and Hoa Binh Inox, two big local stainless steel producers, filed lawsuits and asked authorities to impose anti-dumping duties on cold-rolled stainless steel imported from China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia.

VCA decided to investigate the case and stainless steel users in Vietnam also started to send petitions to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

As only the preliminary decision has been given, importers of stainless steel hope that things can be overturned when there are still six months to go before the Ministry of Industry and Trade gives a final decision.

Local traders said they would officially react to the conclusion.

According to local firms in a statement, if the preliminary tax rates are soon applied, Vietnamese stainless steel processors and consumers will be affected. Besides, it will prevent firms from getting access to cold-rolled stainless steel at a competitive price.

The stainless steel price of Posco VST in the local market is currently 10-20% higher than the global price, they said.

Meanwhile, the four markets whose products are investigated are Vietnam’s main suppliers of materials. Therefore, seeking replacing markets is not possible.

“The current tax of cold-rolled stainless steel imported from markets like Taiwan is 10%, and if more taxes are imposed, enterprises using stainless steel for production in Vietnam have no choice but to scale down their operations. The consequences will be huge damages for enterprises, thousands of workers losing their jobs and the State budget losing dozens of billions of dong each year,” said the statement.

Besides, as Posco VST and Hoa Binh Inox currently hold a stainless steel market share of over 81% in Vietnam, there are concerns over price manipulation once the new tax rates are imposed.

“We are disappointed at the preliminary decision as it shows that the petition of enterprises sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade is not taken into account seriously,” said Le Tan Quoc, deputy sales director at Minh Huu Lien Joint Stock Company.

Quoc hopes that the management agency will have a final decision which is fair to production enterprises in the coming time.

According to Quoc, although the taxes are temporary, the firm still faces difficulties due to the rising material cost and the high selling price.

Source: http://english.thesaigontimes.vn