According to a new decision announced by the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, the country's import tariff for finished steel will be raised from the current level of eight percent to 12 percent, while the import tariff for billet will be increased from two percent to five percent, effective as of December 21.
The decision, which follows the request made last month by the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), aims at restraining imports in order to protect domestic steelmakers from cheaper offers from abroad.
According to VSA's chairman Pham Chi Cuong, manufacturers in neighboring countries have lowered prices and stepped up exports in order to reduce stocks that had piled up as a result of falling demand in markets hit by the global economic slowdown.
Vietnam's steel consumption this year is expected to decrease by 14 percent year on year to three million mt.