Vietnam Steel Association demands increase on steel duties

Vietnam Steel Association demands increase on steel duties

The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) reportedly demanded that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) increase the import tariffs on cold rolled coils below 600 mm in width by up to 5 percent as of April1, 2006. The VSA seeks the duty hike in an effort to help domestic cold rolled coil producers, who have been suffering from cheaper Chinese imports. The Vietnamese government imposed a 7 percent import duty on subject products effective as of November 2005. However, imports from the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries were exempted from the 7 percent duty. Meanwhile, the VSA has also demanded that the MOF decrease the import tariff on hot rolled coils below 600 mm in width to 0 percent from the current 3 percent since there is no domestic production of this product.