Vietnamese firms advised to brace for trade remedies in ASEAN

Illustrative photo (Source: VNA)

The Trade Remedies Authorities of Vietnam has recommended domestic enterprises to prepare legal knowledge and resources to deal with potential lawsuits from export markets, particularly in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

ASEAN is currently one of the markets that investigate and apply the most trade remedies against Vietnamese exports.

According to the Authorities, as of 2020, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand had investigated 13, 11, 10, and 8 trade remedy cases involved Vietnamese products, respectively.

Parts of bilateral turnover between Vietnam and these nations affected by trade remedy lawsuits initiated or reviewed in 2020 alone were about 2 million USD, 5.73 million USD, 82 million USD, and 550 million USD, respectively.

In addition to the increase in the number, the nature of new trade remedy cases against Vietnamese exports has also become more perse and complex than in the past. Currently, the range of products is not only limited to such base metals as iron and steel but also expanded to many others including ceramic tiles, plastic, and cigarette paper.

Due to the protectionism trend in some markets as well as the influence of the world economic situation, which still faces many difficulties, it is forecast that in the coming period, the number of trade remedy investigation cases against both Vietnamese imports and exports will increase. This will lead to new challenges and hurdles for domestic industries.

The trade remedies authorities said it will continue working with relevant units to help boost businesses’ capacity, conduct early warning activities, and intensify State management in the field./.