Vietnam lodges AD complaint against HRC imports from China, India

Vietnam's leading flat rolled steel producers, Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation (FHS) have petitioned the country's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) to launch a dumping investigation into carbon steel hot-rolled coils (HRC) imported from China and India, Mysteel Global learned from the country's local media.

The AD petition was lodged by the two makers on March 19 and is being assessed for completeness and validity, the MOIT is quoted as saying, adding that the opinions of downstream steel manufacturers and steel users will also be "carefully considered".

Nguyen Viet Thang, general director of Hoa Phat, on March 26 expressed worries about competition from Chinese steel, saying that over January-February this year, Vietnam had imported almost 1.8 million tonnes of steel from China, accounting for 70% of overall imports.

"As far as Hoa Phat is concerned, our position is straightforward: we will urge agencies to assist the homegrown manufacturing sector if we see indications of dumping," Thang is quoted by Vietnam's The Investor as saying on March 26, a magazine published by Vietnam's Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises.

However, nine Vietnamese downstream steel manufacturers, including re-rollers, galvanizers and pipemakers, have voiced their opposition, fearing the imposition of AD measures would have negative consequences for their businesses.

HPG and FHS are currently the only two steel mills capable of producing HRC in Vietnam, and together account for nearly 80% of the domestic HRC industry, leaving only about 20% supplied by trading companies that import HRC for downstream steel manufacturing companies and end-users, according to the nine companies.

Specifically, FHS has an annual capacity of 4 million tonnes of hot coils while Hoa Phat's HRC capacity is about 3 million tonnes/year, Mysteel Global noted. Besides, HPG's new project currently under construction is expected to add another 4.6 million t/y of flat steel capacity when it is completed in the first quarter of 2025, as reported.

Therefore, launching an AD investigation into imported HRC products could result in HPG and FHS monopolizing the local HRC market, they worried, adding that only these two steel giants could benefit.

The nine users, including coated sheet producer Pomina Steel, also argue that HPG and FHS are not justified in their proposal. For example, the dumping margin of China's hot coils exported to Vietnam during last year was just about 1.26%, which is below the threshold of 2% for anti-dumping measures to be applied, as they told local media.

In fact, in recent years the two claimants have enjoyed a good performance in both hot coil production and sales, indicating that the growth in imports of HRC caused no harm to local mills, they added.

FHS and HPG together produced about 6.73 million tonnes of hot coils in 2023, rising by 11.4% on year, while the two makers' total HRC sales also moved higher by 9.7% on year to reach about 6.8 million tonnes last year, according to data released by the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.