HANOI: Vietnam will impose anti-dumping tariffs on steel from China, following South Korea and other nations in fighting back against surging supplies from the world’s biggest producer.
The South-East Asian nation will impose temporary tariffs on some hot-rolled coil starting from early March, according to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Friday (Feb 21). Outside China itself, Vietnam is the biggest single buyer of Chinese steel, and hot-rolled coil is a major export product.
China’s sent the most steel overseas in nine years in 2024, as its producers turned to global markets to offset a deep construction slowdown at home. That set the stage for President Donald Trump to propose a blanket 25 per cent tariff on all US imports, and has prompted nations from South Korea to Brazil and India to consider levies.
The flurry of protectionism will pile pressure on Beijing to rein in its billion-tonne steel industry after several years of slowing domestic demand. Steel futures in China fell as much as 1.8 per cent, while steelmakers in Vietnam advanced.
Recent tariff decisions "should incentivise the Chinese government to launch another round of supply reform” to boost supply discipline and improve industry profitability, analysts including Jack Shang from Citigroup Inc. wrote in a note.
Vietnam’s temporary tariffs of between 19.38 per cent and 27.83 per cent will come into force on March 7 and last for 120 days. China exported about 8 million tonnes of HRC to Vietnam last year, and the tariffs would likely cover about 50 per cent of that volume, Citigroup said, citing discussions with industry players.
The anti-dumping probe was triggered by Hoa Phat Group and Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp., two major Vietnamese steelmakers who requested an investigation of imports from India and China last year. The government won’t go ahead with duties on India at this moment, it said.
HRC futures on China’s Shanghai Futures Exchange were 1.3 per cent lower by 11:34 a.m. local time, while iron ore in Singapore was little changed at US$107.45 a tonne. - Bloomberg
