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Anti-dumping lawsuits increase as protectionism grows
The number of antidumping lawsuits against Vietnamese producers has increased to an alarming level as many countries try to shield their own industries amid the economic crisis, officials have said.
“Not only large export earners such as seafood and footwear but also products whose shipments earn only hundreds of thousands of dollars are at risk of antidumping lawsuits, since the trend of trade protection is rising,” said Nguyen Duc Thanh, Deputy head of the Competition Administration Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Whereas the US and the EU had initiated most of the anti-dumping lawsuits against Vietnam previously, now the plaintiffs include developing nations such as India, Peru and Egypt, Thanh said.
Thanh was speaking at a meeting in Hanoi last week.
Since 1994, Vietnam has copped 37 lawsuits relating to trade defense, including 31 anti-dumping, five self-defense, and one anti-subsidy, according to the ministry.
The EU has been the most litigious in this respect with 10 lawsuits, followed by the US with five and India with four.
Two more anti-dumping lawsuits were brought against Vietnam in the first quarter of this year, one by Canada against waterproof footwear and the other by the US against plastic bags.
Some other products shipped to the EU, Argentina and Brazil are at high risk of generating lawsuits, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Danh Vinh.
Because of the anti-dumping measures imposed on Vietnam, the country’s exporters are losing revenue and even whole markets in some cases.
Vietnamese compact light producers, for instance, have lost the Egyptian market because they could not pay the high import duty imposed by Egypt as an anti-dumping measure, he said.
Such obstacles should be considered business risks and handled accordingly, so Vietnamese companies should make plans and work with government agencies to prevent anti-dumping measures and deal with any that are imposed, Vinh suggested.
They should closely monitor their markets and the attitude of native producers in those markets, and adjust their business strategies to prevent anti-dumping lawsuits, Thanh said.
Domestic market
Officials and business representatives at the meeting raised the issue of harsh competition from foreign companies trying to promote their sales in Vietnam.
Dinh Huy Tam, General secretary of the Vietnam Steel Association, suggested the government force state-funded projects to use locally produced steel and thereby help the country’s steel makers clear their stockpiles.
Foreign steel and steel products have poured into Vietnam recently, making local production stagnant, he said.
The government should also adopt defensive measures allowed by international law to protect local steel production if steel imports continue to increase sharply, Tam said.
Nguyen Van Thu, Vice chairman of the Vietnam Tea Association, said local firms should improve their product quality to win a bigger slice of the domestic market and actively fight against foreign producers that rely on unfair competitive practices or outright trade fraud.
Vu Ngoc Bao, General secretary of the Vietnam Paper Association, said Vietnam’s administrative procedures should be simplified to make it easier for Vietnamese companies to sue foreign firms that use dirty tricks in Vietnam.
Bao’s association is considering a proposal to the government to allow the application of urgent defensive measures in some instances, he said.
Ngan Anh
Thanhnien
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