MoIT begins final remedies review for imported steel billets and bars

HÀ NỘI — The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam has received all required filings from local producers for the end-of-term review of trade remedies on imported steel billets and steel bars.On July  一 八,  二0 一 六, the ministry issued Decision  二 九 六 八/QĐ-BCT to impose a global scale protection for steel billets and bars imported into Việt Nam. The term of the protection is four years between March  二 二,  二0 一 六 and March  二 一,  二0 二0, without any extension.On May  三 一,  二0 一 九, the trade remedies authority announced it would receive filings from steel companies that had asked for the review.On July  一,  二0 一 九, four local steel producers asked the authority to do the end-of-term review of the protection on steel billets and steel bars.Those companies are Hòa Phát Hải Dương Steel JSC, Southern Steel Company Ltd – VNSteel, Thủ Đức Steel JSC and Biên Hòa Steel JSC.On July  一0,  二0 一 九, the four companies were asked to provide additional filings for the review as regulated. Added filings were confirmed valid on August  六.The authority will assess the filings for  三0 working days and submit them to the Minister of Industry and Trade to decide whether the investigation is carried out or not, it said in a statement on August  八.The authority will review the filings to see if import volumes of steel billets and bars increased during the application of the trade protection.In addition, the data of domestic steel production will be revealed and the review will show how much local firms have adjusted their capacities during the protection period.Lastly, the authority will see the probability of the local steel industry to be threatened or dampened when the protection ends.In order to make the best review and assure the benefits of local firms, the authority asked Vietnamese firms to provide data of their production and trade in  二0 一 六- 一 八 and in the first half of  二0 一 九.The deadline for information provision is August  一 五,  二0 一 九. — VNS