Companies are still passive when it comes to being investigated.
The Asia-Africa and Oceania region is an important export market for Vietnam, but it is also a market with a lot of trade defense scrutiny for Vietnam’s export products. According to the Trade Remedies Department of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, to date, 145/268 trade defense cases against Vietnamese exports have been investigated by 14/25 countries in the Asia, Africa and Oceania market group.
In particular, Hanoi’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the markets of Asia, Africa and Oceania, including 120 countries, have been important export markets in recent years, and the value of goods exports was calculated until the end of the 10th quarter of 2024. By 2020, it will reach nearly US$67 billion, accounting for 67% of Hanoi’s total exports. However, as protectionist policies in each country increase, this puts competitive pressure on manufacturing industries in importing countries, causing these manufacturers to demand trade defense measures such as anti-dumping, anti-subsidies, and self-defense from the government.
Nguyen The Hiep – Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade said that many industries and enterprises are proactive in handling and responding to foreign trade defense investigations, identifying them as normal activities of international trade. . However, since most of them are small and medium-sized enterprises, they do not have a deep understanding of trade defense, so they are still passive when they become the subject of investigation, and do not clearly understand the work they need to do during production. Requests from foreign investigative agencies are very strict regarding the time sequence, procedures, and information that companies must provide.
In response to this market group’s trade defense investigation, Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade recommended that the city work closely with the Department of Industry and Trade to handle trade defense cases involving the city’s products and businesses. the case of India, which investigated the ban on subsidies on stainless steel imported from Vietnam in 2018; Australia’s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into Vietnamese precision steel pipes in 2020; …
However, records show that trade defense operations still have some limitations. Propaganda work and dissemination of information on defense cases in particular, but also on trade defense in general, are regularly carried out in various forms in the city. Corporations and state management officials remain limited and passive. Some associations and associations have not yet fully promoted the role of bridges between state management agencies and enterprises, and between associations and enterprises within the association. Trade defense work has not received adequate attention from associations and associations…
The company’s competitiveness is not yet high. Many companies are still confused about changing to meet the technological barriers of other countries when entering overseas markets. Policies to attract and utilize talent and high-skilled personnel, especially training and attracting expertise in trade defense, have not yet had the desired effect.
Strengthening support to strengthen companies’ trade defense capabilities
According to Mr. To Ngoc Son, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Asia-Africa Market Department, Vietnam’s general exports are expected to achieve positive results in the last months of 2024. However, difficulties and challenges will be many as competition intensifies in traditional export markets and promulgation of protective measures becomes increasingly common in some markets such as India and ASEAN. The trend of imposing new income standards and sustainable green consumption is becoming increasingly popular.
Truong Thuy Linh, deputy director of the Trade Remedies Department, also said that most major traditional export markets have launched trade defense investigations against Vietnam. The items subject to the investigation were not limited to items with large export amounts such as shrimp, pangasius, steel, and lumber, but were also expanded to items with average export value and quantity such as lawn mowers, honey, and paper. plate…
In particular, according to Mr. Truong Thuy Linh, the market research trend is becoming more and more stringent, placing particularly high requirements on the government and the companies being investigated. The scope of the investigation is gradually expanding, including new content such as an investigation to review the scope of items and an investigation to prevent trade remedy evasion. At the same time, market economic issues may result in increased trade and defense tax rates.
“From the above risks, local institutions will become important information channels for local enterprises. The focal organ is an extended arm of the central organ. Coordinate the provision of information to assist the investigation. Therefore, close cooperation with central agencies is necessary to further strengthen exchange, training, and coaching activities. Proactively improve trade defense knowledge for businesses.”- expressed Mr. Truong Thuy Linh.
In the future, in order to promote and promote the export potential of goods and improve the capacity to respond to trade defense incidents in the Asia-Africa and Oceania markets, Mr. Nguyen The Hiep told Believed that Hanoi City will continue to cooperate. The Ministry of Industry and Trade deploys solutions to improve the competitiveness of companies and manufacturers with the best ability to adapt to new situations. Under the direction of the government, establish and implement policy mechanisms to promote production and exports, focusing on monetary policy.
In addition, the Hanoi Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade strengthen research and apply appropriate trade defense measures to protect Vietnamese markets and enterprises from competition from external foreign goods. Through the overseas representative agency system, we report changes in our partners’ policies and reactions from overseas markets in a timely manner to quickly prepare appropriate solutions and responses.
In addition, according to the Hanoi Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Industry and Trade must regularly and closely cooperate with local trade defense agencies to effectively deploy trade defense work and commercial measures. At the same time, propaganda work must be directed to local areas and information, documents, and propaganda materials must be provided to local areas regularly and promptly to lay the foundation for local propaganda.
