Four stainless steel producing companies in Vietnam have proposed to the relevant domestic authorities that the import duty on stainless steel bar should be hiked to 20 percent from the current 10 percent, in order to protect the domestic industry.
The four companies stated that the domestic stainless steel industry has been facing fierce competition from imports, especially as the Vietnamese mills are not yet able to produce stainless steel billet.
During the first nine months of 2011, Vietnam imported a total of 35,000 mt of stainless steel products, amounting to $100 million in value. In particular, Vietnam's stainless steel bar imports in the given period totaled 19,700 mt.