|
There are trade remedies, but Vietnam still has not used them
Vietnam still cannot effectively use the allowed trade remedies in order to protect local production, something other countries have been doing well.
Under the WTO rules, WTO member countries can use trade remedies in order to cope with the impacts of foreign products on local industries. In the last many years, especially in the economic recession, the trade remedies have been used effectively by the EU countries, the US and India.
Meanwhile, Vietnam still has not used any trade remedies, though foreign made products have been flooding the domestic market, which afflicts production fields and made other industries die young. Vu Ba Phu, Deputy Director of the Competition Administration Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, talked with Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon on the issue,
Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon: Could you please tell us about the imperativeness of the use of trade remedies (Anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard measures), when imports are dominating over domestically made products on Vietnam’s market?
Vu Ba Phu: Trade remedy measures are the tools the WTO allows its member countries to use legally. The building up, promulgation and the application of the measures of the member countries must accord the WTO’s anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard agreements.
Of the three above said measures, anti-dumping and anti-subsidy are the tools that countries most regularly use to cope with unhealthy competitions of the goods imported from other countries (Exporters sell products at the prices lower than the normal prices or production costs, or the products are subsidized by the governments of exporters).
In general, the measures are applied for five years, while they can be extended, if investigations find that the goods continue to be sold at the prices lower than the normal prices or production costs continue to be subsidized by other governments. As such, these are not temporary measures.
As for the third measure, import countries use this tool in case the import volume or import revenue increases too sharply during a short time, which may cause severe damages or seriously affect the industries that make the same products as the imports.
As such, this is a measure to protect local production temporarily.
The duration for applying this measure is four years for the first time and six years for the second time, which is applied for developing countries. Meanwhile, the duration for applying this measure for the second time is only four years for developed countries.
In general, developed countries rarely apply safeguard measures because the competitiveness of their goods is higher than trade partners. In recent years, we only witnessed the US applying the safeguard measure for the first time to truck tires imported to the US in 2009.
In recent years, Vietnam’s import revenue has been continuously increasing more rapidly than the export revenue, thus leading to the increasingly high trade deficit. It may happen that some kinds of the products with high import revenues have been dumped in Vietnam subsidized by the exporters’ governments.
However, we still need to have surveys and research to be conducted by relevant agencies to make conclusion of which products have been dumped or subsidized, and how high the margin of dumping or subsidy.
Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon: Why haven’t Vietnamese producers used the trade remedy measures?
Phu: I think local producers do not well understand the benefit and the effect of the trade remedy measures.
Besides, in order to apply anti-dumping, anti-subsidy or safeguard measures, enterprises need to take initiative to cooperate with each other, so they can represent the enterprises in the industries as required by the laws, to propose government agencies to take investigation to apply trade remedy measures.
The investigation always takes time (Six to nine months), and the effects of the tools cannot be seen immediately on the domestic market.
Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon: If Vietnam applies safeguard measures, will this affect the psychology of investors and Vietnam’s partners in free trade agreements (FTA) who may take rehabilitation?
Phu: I have to repeat that trade remedies measures are lawful tools WTO allows its members countries to use
Foreign investors operating in Vietnam are a part of the Vietnamese business community. The application of the measures will help protect the legal interests and benefit of the Vietnamese business community.
Most of Vietnam’s partners in FTA are WTO’s members, and they have to accept WTO's rules.
vietnamnet, tbktsg
|
