Steel industry and the problem of reducing trade deficit
After the story of dumping on frozen shrimp, basa fish, footwear, etc., public opinion has recently become “hot” about Vietnamese steel products. If in the past the “incident” came from major economies in Europe or the US, this time it originated from countries in the region, and thus the issue is becoming “hotter” than ever.
(Baonghean) -After the story of dumping on frozen shrimp, basa fish, footwear, etc., public opinion has recently become “hot” about Vietnamese steel products. If in the past the “incident” came from major economies in Europe or the US, this time it originated from countries in the region, and thus the issue is becoming “hotter” than ever.
Let's start with the fact that Vietnam's economy with enterprises is not as strong as other countries in the region. To fulfill the commitment to reduce import tax to 0% to 5% when participating in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), Vietnam always has to trade deficit. Faced with this situation, to contribute to trade growth, Vietnamese enterprises are promoting exports to ASEAN countries to reduce trade deficit and create conditions to increase intra-bloc trade.
But recently, some Vietnamese products that have just boosted exports have been sued by businesses and industry associations of the host country for anti-dumping and special trade defense, claiming that "rapid export growth is harming them and threatening domestic production". Specifically, Hoa Sen Group's roofing sheets when exported to Thailand and Indonesia have encountered barriers such as trade defense investigations on roofing sheets and anti-dumping lawsuits against the group's products. Previously, the Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation (MISIF) sent a letter warning that Vietnamese metal-coated and color-coated steel sheets were at risk of dumping. Indonesian companies have also submitted a petition to the state level declaring that they have been seriously injured or threatened with serious injury and requesting the Indonesian government to apply trade defense measures.
On December 17, 2012, Bluescope Steel Vietnam sent a dispatch requesting the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to consider adjusting the import tax on galvanized and color-coated steel products under HS group 7210.70 to 15% and apply from 2013. In addition, Bluescope Steel Australia has been carrying out many anti-dumping lawsuits against similar goods from Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, etc. This proves that Bluescope Steel is using all means to fight against foreign exporters conducting transactions in places where they have production and business activities.
It is not difficult to affirm that this excessive protectionism comes from the interests of some multinational companies and corporations to monopolize the market. This will create inequality in trade relations between countries and create unfair competition, harming the goal of trade liberalization in ASEAN.
Obviously, the free market structure that ASEAN countries are aiming for is gradually being broken, and the inequality in competition between enterprises in the region is increasingly widening. Therefore, the government agencies of ASEAN countries need to coordinate and take positive and timely actions to ensure that the committed free trade principles are implemented, protect the core values of the competition law of the market economy, protect the maximum interests of consumers in the ASEAN region and reduce the burden of trade deficit for Vietnam.
The story of the steel industry and the problem of reducing Vietnam's trade deficit are clearly facing many challenges and difficulties that cannot be solved overnight.
Phu Chau
