US imposes preliminary anti-dumping duties of up to 88 percent on Vietnamese coated steel

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on imported coated steel from various countries, including Vietnam, with rates ranging from 39.84 percent to 88.12 percent for the Southeast Asian nation.

According to the DOC's preliminary decision issued on Friday, among the Vietnamese steel producers named in the anti-dumping investigation, Hoa Sen Group faces a rate of 59 percent; Hoa Phat Group, Nam Kim Steel JSC, and Southern Steel Sheet Co. Ltd. may be subject to a rate of 49.42 percent; and Ton Dong A Corporation is projected to receive the lowest rate at 39.84 percent.

Other Vietnamese steel manufacturers not named in the investigation will be subject to an anti-dumping rate of 88.12 percent.

The DOC is scheduled to issue its final decision on August 18. Subsequently, the U.S. International Trade Commission is expected to announce its final conclusion in October 2025, determining whether these tariff measures will be officially applied.

These temporary rates result from the DOC's investigation into Vietnamese steel, initiated in September 2024, based on complaints from U.S. steel producers.

Coated steel from other countries and territories such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and the UAE are also subject to preliminary anti-dumping duties.

However, the rates applied to most of these markets are lower than those for Vietnam, except for some cases, including Brazil facing a general tariff of 118.63 percent and three manufacturers in Taiwan subject to a rate of 67.9 percent.

A leader of a steel manufacturing group told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday that they are considering various measures to adapt to the U.S. anti-dumping tariff, which could harm the price competitiveness of Vietnamese steel in the U.S. market.

Currently, the DOC has yet to disclose the surrogate values and methods used in calculating dumping margins, so Vietnamese steel firms are awaiting these details, expected in the coming days, which will form the basis for their legal rebuttals.

According to data from the DOC, imports of galvanized steel from Vietnam have experienced significant fluctuations in recent years.

In 2022, the U.S. imported US$626 million worth of coated steel from Vietnam, which increased to $751 million within the same year.

However, imports sharply declined to $241 million in 2023, reflecting the impact of increasingly stringent U.S. trade policies.

A recent report by Hanoi-based MB Securities JSC indicates that hot-rolled coils and coated steel accounted for approximately 60 percent of Vietnam's total steel exports to the U.S. in 2024, VnExpress reported.

These products are subject to tariffs ranging from 21 percent to 36 percent, with some coated steel items facing tariffs around 22 percent.

Luong Hoang Thai, director of the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, stated that Vietnamese enterprises face high tariffs because the U.S. has not yet recognized Vietnam as a market economy.

"Consequently, the U.S. applies third-country surrogate values to calculate duties, which do not accurately reflect Vietnam's production and export realities," VnExpress cited Thai as saying.

In addition to the looming anti-dumping duties, Vietnamese steel companies are also facing a subsidy investigation conducted by the DOC.

If this probe determines illegal subsidy practices, Vietnamese coated steel exports to the U.S. may also be subject to countervailing duties, further piling pressure on the domestic steel industry.

Vinh Tho - Binh Khanh - Cong Trung / Tuoi Tre News

(2025/04/07-11:44)