VietNamNet Bridge – The number of commercial lawsuits against Vietnamese products is on the rise, with a wide range of products the subject of litigation, including steel, seafood, fiber, tires, footwear and plastic bags.

After the US Department of Commerce (DOC) issued a preliminary decision on imposing countervailing and anti-subsidy duties of 24.22 percent and 111.47 percent, respectively, on Vietnamese steel manufactures SeAH Vina and Hot Rolling Pipe, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation on steel pipe imports from eight countries, including Vietnam.

This is the fifth lawsuit against Vietnam’s steel products.

Analysts have said that exports which have high growth rates and competitive selling prices could become defendants in anti-dumping lawsuits filed by  enterprises in the import countries.

The first anti-dumping lawsuit against Vietnam was on catfish exports to the US in 2002.

A report from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) showed that Vietnam has dealt with 52 anti-dumping lawsuits as of March 31, 2013 and 73 cases as of March 2014.

As for the US market, eight anti-dumping lawsuits have been raised against products sourced from Vietnam, especially seafood. Catfish and shrimp, the two major export items to the US, have become regular defendants in the lawsuits.

In mid-2013, DOC decided that Vietnam’s shrimp was being dumped in the US. The DOC imposed anti-dumping duties of 1.15-7.88 percent.

Catfish exports to the market have also had to bear anti-dumping duties, having experienced 10 DOC administrative reviews. The ninth administrative review in September 2013 set a sharp three-fold tax increase on catfish imports from Vietnam.

Sources said the US is considering an investigation over rice imports from some countries, including Vietnam, which may be followed by a new legal case against Vietnam’s rice.

Pham Chi Lan, a renowned economist, commented that Vietnam has opened its market to the world, but it has not prepared necessary tools to protect local production.

A businessman, who asked to be anonymous, said the business community hoped that during the negotiations for the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) agreement, the US would compromise in matters relating to the anti-dumping lawsuits against Vietnam’s seafood and other products.

However, it seems that the TPP negotiations have not had an influence on the outcomes of the lawsuits against Vietnam.

The businessman said Vietnamese enterprises still cannot see the benefits to be brought by TPP. In fact, Vietnam is already enjoying preferential tariffs in some markets. The unprocessed seafood and wooden furniture exports to the US, for example, now bear a tax of nearly zero percent. Meanwhile, Australia, New Zealand and Peru have now imposed zero percent on Vietnam’s seafood products.

DNSG