The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on Tuesday issued a decree imposing temporary anti-dumping duties on H-shaped steel products imported from China.
 
Under the Decree No 957/2017/QĐ-BTC, the anti-dumping duties imposed range from 21.18 per cent to 36.33 per cent and will be in effect between April 5 and August 2, 2017. 
 
H-shaped steel is used to make support beams at construction projects, girders for containers and trucks, steel decks and chassis.
 
Earlier too, on October 5, 2016, the MoIT had conducted anti-dumping investigations into H-shaped steel products imported from China (including Hong Kong). Accordingly, the steel products coded HS 7216.33.00, 7228.70.10 and 7228.70.90 were under investigation.
 
The decision came after the MoIT’s Việt Nam Competition Authority (VCA) received a petition from Posco SS Vina Company Limited saying that H-shaped steel products imported from China and Hong Kong have severely hit domestic steel producers.
 
The dumping and damage periods that will be under investigation are from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016.
 
There are five companies in Việt Nam that produce shaped steel products, but Posco SS Vina is the only producer of H-shaped steel, with an annual capacity of 700,000 tonnes. This makes the company eligible to represent all local H-shaped steel firms and file a lawsuit against imported products of the same type.