Increase in investigative cases

Dumping is a phenomenon that occurs when a certain type of good is exported to another country, at a price lower than the normal price comparable in the exporting country's market. The World Trade Organization (WTO) considers this an unfair competitive behavior of foreign producers and exporters against producers of importing countries.

Therefore, anti-dumping measures are applied to dumped imported goods to remedy the significant damage that these imports cause to the domestic manufacturing industry of the importing country.

Steel is a commodity frequently subject to anti-dumping investigations

In the face of the trend of trade protectionism taking place stronger than ever, therefore, in the Annual Report of Trade Remedies 2022 conducted by the Trade Remedy Department, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that in the period from 2010 to 2021, the average number of cases in which WTO members initiated investigations into anti-dumping measures was 234 cases. "It can be seen that in the period of 2012-2020, the number of anti-dumping investigation cases strongly initiated by members, exceeded 200 cases, especially in 2013 recorded 287 cases, in 2016 reached 298 cases and in 2020 recorded 355 cases initiated" - Trade Remedy Department information.

Notably, according to the report, 2020 marked a year of significant increase in the number of cases initiated by WTO members into anti-dumping investigations, with 355, only behind 2001 with 372 and 1999 with 357 cases since the WTO was established in 1995. However, the number of cases of anti-dumping duty in the period 2010-2021, on average, reached 164 cases per year. During the whole period, recorded 205 cases of anti-dumping duties in 2018, in 2021 reached 286 cases – the highest level in the period from 1995 to now. In 2022, WTO members initiated 89 cases, a decrease of 97 cases compared to the same period in 2021, and up to 103 investigative cases led to the imposition of anti-dumping duties, a decrease of 183 cases compared to the same period in 202.

The Trade Remedies Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that although anti-dumping investigations will not necessarily lead to the application of anti-dumping measures, the increase in investigations in the previous year could signal an increase in the number of measures applied in the following year. Because in 2020, the number of cases initiating anti-dumping investigations increased sharply, reaching 355 cases, so in 2021, the number of investigative cases leading to the imposition of anti-dumping duties also increased sharply, reaching 286 cases, an increase of 179 cases compared to 2020.

Contrary to that trend, the number of cases initiated in 2021 was only 186, so in 2022, the number of cases leading to tax imposition only reached 89. Particularly for G20 economies, anti-dumping investigations from July 2019 to July 2021  showed that the number of lawsuits increased from 93 cases in the last 6 months of 2021 to 157 cases in the first 6 months of 2020, then decreased to 122 cases in the next 6 months and the first 6 months of 2021, the number of cases further decreased to 91 – accounting for 79% of the total 115 anti-dumping investigations initiated by WTO members during this period.

In addition, the number of cases in which G20 economies applied anti-dumping measures in the first 6 months of 2021 reached 130, up 177% compared to the last 6 months of 2020. Specifically, in the period from July 2020 to June 2022, the United States was the country that initiated the most anti-dumping investigations with 101 cases, followed by India with 58 cases, China with 32 cases, Canada with 25 cases, the EU and Argentina with 20 cases, Mexico had 11 cases, Australia and Russia 8, Brazil 6, South Korea and Turkey 5. Meanwhile, India applied the most anti-dumping measures with 73 cases, followed by the United States with 69 cases, Canada with 26 cases, Argentina and the EU with 22 cases, South Africa with 18 cases, Brazil with 17 cases and South Korea with 15 cases,...

Vietnam proactively uses measures

In the period from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2022, China was the country most initiated anti-dumping investigations with 1,565 cases, accounting for 24% of the total number of cases (6,582 cases) of WTO members initiated during the same period. South Korea ranked second with 487 cases, accounting for 7%; the third is Taiwan (China) with 335 cases, accounting for 5.1%; United States 318 cases, or 4.8%; India 270 cases, or 4.1%; Thailand 260 cases, accounting for 4%.

As for Vietnam, according to the Trade Remedy Agency, Vietnam was initiated anti-dumping investigations by WTO members with 120 cases. In 2022, WTO members initiated a total of 89 anti-dumping investigations, of which China was the subject of 38 cases, accounting for 43% of the total number of cases initiated; India was initiated to investigate 08 cases, accounting for 9%; South Korea, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam were initiated to investigate 4 cases.

Some sectors subject to anti-dumping investigations by WTO members are live animals; agricultural products; plant and animal fats, oils and waxes; processed foods, beverages, spirits, vinegar and tobacco; mineral products; chemical products; plastic, plastic, rubber products; wood and wood products; paper, paperboard; textile products; stone products, plaster, ceramic products, porcelain, glass; metal products; electrical machinery and equipment; vehicles, planes and boats and other items. In 2022, 89 cases initiated anti-dumping investigations, of which, chemical products had 21 cases, accounting for 24%; Metal products accounted for 16 cases (accounting for 18% of the total number of initiated cases), ranking third is the group of plastic items with 12 cases (accounting for 13%).

So far, Vietnam has initiated 16 anti-dumping investigations out of 25. Compared to other countries, the level of application of trade remedies, including anti-dumping measures, of Vietnam is less. According to the Trade Remedy Department, Vietnam statistics according to the case that initiated the investigation, while countries statistics according to the number of countries investigated in each case.

In addition, Vietnam joined the WTO after a number of ASEAN and Asian countries for nearly 10 years. And we first began investigating trade remedies in 2009, which is only 14 years of using this tool. According to WTO statistics, in the period of 2018-2022, Vietnam ranks 12th among member countries that initiate the most investigations into trade remedy cases.

On the other hand, trade remedies are measures aimed at protecting domestic manufacturing, not a few specific enterprises. Therefore, the basic requirement when using trade remedy measures is that there must be linkages between domestic manufacturing enterprises to meet mandatory requirements and conditions when using trade remedy measures in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese law as well as the WTO.

Accordingly, the use of trade remedies must be based on dossiers requested by representatives of domestic production sectors. "Because most Vietnamese enterprises are small and medium-sized, the level of awareness and understanding of trade remedy measures is still very limited, as well as the level of willingness to cooperate to jointly petition faces many difficulties, making the number of cases using trade remedies in Vietnam not much," the Trade Remedy Department stated.