HANOI: Vietnam raised steel product imports by 44.3% year on year to 1.59 million mt in April, according to data released Friday by Vietnam Customs. China remained Vietnam’s largest supplier of steel products in April with 860,505 mt, rising 44.4% from 595,733 mt in the same month last year, and accounted for 54.2% of Vietnam’s total steel imports in the month. Other key suppliers in April included Japan with 256,236 mt, up 8.7% year on year, and South Korea with 139,433 mt, up 6.1% year on year, the customs data showed.
Vietnam’s domestic demand for steel products, particularly steel for construction sector, continued to rise in April, the government news portal said in a statement May 5, citing data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Ministry of Industry and Trade on April 29 decided to raise antidumping tax rates on cold-rolled stainless steel imports from China and Indonesia, reduce the rate on cold-rolled stainless steel products from Malaysia while keeping it unchanged for cold-rolled stainless steel from Taiwan after its first review this year.
The ministry first applied the provisional rates that ranged from 3.07%-37.29% for products from China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan on September 5, 2014. The provisional taxes were effective from October 5, 2014 to May 13, 2016. The new antidumping tariffs will be effective from May 14, 2016 to October 6, 2019.
The antidumping duty on Chinese stainless steel has been increased to 17.47% from 6.58% for Chinese Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co. Ltd. and to 25.35% from 4.64%-6.87% for other producers. The rate for Indonesian products has been raised to 13.03% from 3.07%.
Malaysian stainless steel will face a 9.55% antidumping duty, down from 10.71%, while the rate for Taiwanese products remains unchanged at 37.29% for Taiwanese Yuan Long Stainless Steel Corp. and 13.79% for Yieh United Steel Corp. and others.
Vietnam will also impose provisional safeguard duties of 23.3% on imports of billets and 14.2% on long rolled products, according to a March 7 document issued by the industry and trade ministry. The duties, which are effective for up to 200 days, take effect from March 22, Platts has reported.
In the first four months, Vietnam imported 6.21 million mt of steel products, jumping 56.5% year on year, mainly from China with 3.699 million mt, up 60.9% year on year; Japan with 983,857 mt, 36% higher year on year; and South Korea 568,410 mt, up 9.2% year on year.
Meanwhile, Vietnam exported 251,647 mt of steel products in April, up 26.3% from the same month last year. Most of the exports went to Cambodia with 46,665 mt, down 22.98% year on year; Indonesia 45,605 mt, up 93.5% from the same month in 2015; and Malaysia 16,923 mt, rising 42.2% year on year. The country’s exports of steel products over January-April rose 24.9% year on year to 972,221 mt, mainly to Cambodia (210,111 mt, down 12.8% year on year), Indonesia (192,420 mt, up 9.7% year on year) and Malaysia (49,139 mt, falling 20.6% year on year).
