Trade remedies are an inevitable part of economic integration

Mr. Le Trieu Dung

Up to now, Vietnamese goods have had to deal with a total of 208 cases of trade remedies from abroad. In your opinion, what is the main reason for trade lawsuits against export goods increasing?

In Vietnam, thanks to the impact of international economic integration, export turnover increased rapidly. In 2021, the total import-export turnover is expected to reach over US$600 billion. The rapid increase in production and export capacity of Vietnam may be the main reason for the increase in trade remedies for exports.

It must be affirmed that trade remedy measures are an indispensable and inseparable part of the process of international economic integration. This is a tool to ensure the economic integration process in general as well as to ensure sustainable imports and exports in particular. Recently, a big trend has appeared that along with the process of deep integration, the competitiveness and protection of the domestic manufacturing industry has also increased in many countries around the world. Especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, countries focused on increasing support for a number of domestic manufacturing industries, ensuring supply chains of strategic items. Many countries have now increased trade protection measures for strategic commodities such as iron and steel, fertilizers.

In the opposite direction, how has Vietnam initiated a trade remedy investigation with imported goods?

Vietnam has also actively implemented many trade remedies with imported goods. As of November 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has initiated an investigation into 23 trade remedy cases, including 13 anti-dumping cases, one anti-subsidy case, six self-defense cases and one anti-circumvention case. Subjects are steel products, float glass, cooking oil, and monosodium glutamate, DAP fertilizer, BOPP film, aluminum, wooden board, fiber and recently sugar.

The measures have created a healthy competitive environment, contributing to the development of the domestic manufacturing industry, especially in basic industries. It is estimated that these industries account for about 6% of GDP, protecting jobs for hundreds of thousands of workers. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has summarized, taking into account the interests of related parties such as domestic manufacturers, importers, users, etc., so that application can ensure compliance with international commitments, contributing to improving efficiency of the integration process.

Some say that the perception of Vietnamese enterprises on trade remedy tools has changed significantly recently. What is your opinion?

In fact, there have been obvious changes from enterprises in awareness of trade remedies. In the 2000s, before Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), trade remedy tools were still very new to state management agencies as well as enterprises. Up to now, most domestic enterprises have had common awareness about trade remedies. Enterprises have realized that this is an indispensable tool of the integration process in general as well as the process of each industry and each enterprise when going to foreign markets or opening to compete with imported goods in the domestic market. When domestic manufacturing industries faced trade remedies, they will gradually realize that if they want to integrate effectively and develop in the long term, they must live with trade remedy measures, thereby proposing strategies to ensure lasting development.

What recommendations do you have for the business community to better respond to micro-PTI lawsuits with exports as well as more effectively use trade remedy tools, protecting the legitimate interests of the domestic manufacturing industry in the future?

In order to minimize the negative impacts of trade remedies, Vietnamese enterprises need to develop an export strategy in the direction of diversifying markets, avoiding overheating in one market, enhancing competition via quality and limitation of price competition; at the same time, consider the risks of trade remedies when formulating production and business strategies, especially exports.

At the same time, enterprises need to equip themselves with basic knowledge of trade remedy laws, prepare resources to deal with the risks of trade lawsuits; monitor the warnings of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the process of exporting to other countries; strictly comply with regulations on certification of origin, not abetting acts of origin fraud, evading trade remedies.

Currently, both traditional and new-generation FTAs have provisions on trade remedies. Applying trade remedies to goods imported into Vietnam plays a very important role. More than ever, Vietnam needs to improve its capacity in trade remedies, and make good use of legal trade remedies allowed by the WTO. The process of investigating and applying trade remedies needs to be objective, ensuring that all opinions of relevant parties are summed up, calculated and considered in accordance with the detailed provisions of domestic and international laws to avoid abuse.