Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang made the statement at a regular press briefing in Hanoi on August 11 following news that the US officially initiated an investigation into trade remedy tax evasion on a number of steel pipe products imported from Vietnam.

Hang affirmed that the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership has witnessed progress in all fields in recent times, including in economics, trade and investment. Vietnam is the leading trading partner of the US in Southeast Asia, while the US is also the second largest trading partner of Vietnam, with two-way trade turnover exceeding more than US$110 billion in 2021.

“Vietnam advocates promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation with the US on the basis of freedom, fairness and mutual benefit in accordance with bilateral agreements and regulations of the International Trade Organization (WTO),” she said.

“Vietnam is willing to exchange with the US through existing mechanisms such as the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) to promptly solve arising problems and strengthen economic, trade and investment relations for the benefit of businesses and people of the two countries,” stressed the spokesperson.

In their lawsuit filed in May, major US steel pipe manufacturers, namely Nucor Corporation, Bull Moose Tube, and Maruichi Steel Corporation, accused Vietnam of importing hot rolled steel (HRS), the main raw material used to produce steel pipes, from several countries, including China, for processing steel pipes to be exported into the US.

By doing so, they said Vietnamese exporters try to evade the respective trade remedy tax that the US is levying on countries, including China. The US Department of Commerce (DOC) recently decided to officially initiate an investigation into the case.

Source: VOV