A surge in imports of cheap Chinese-made steel is stoking anxiety among domestic producers and the steel market in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s steel industry is facing multiple challenges and might be choked by imported steel, mainly from China.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that Vietnam bought 890,000 metric tons of hot-rolled coil (HRC) steel in April, 1.5 times higher than the locally-produced volume.

Of the total, China’s HRC steel accounted for 71 percent.

Between January and April, some 3.9 million metric tons of steel was imported into Vietnam, rising 32 percent year on year.

During the four-month period, 73 percent of the total imported steel came from China, more than double the amount recorded in the same period last year.

Several steel firms said that it is unreasonable as imported steel is not subject to trade remedies. 

In addition, low-priced Chinese steel is flooding the Vietnamese market, creating an environment of unfair competition.

The prices of China’s HRC steel are always cheaper than those set by other exporters, making it easier for the Chinese products to enter Vietnam.

In particular, Chinese HRC steel is US$123 per metric ton cheaper than the price of South Korea’s steel.

To mitigate the impact of imported steel on domestic production, Vietnamese authorities are considering a petition from local steel firms to launch an anti-dumping probe into Chinese steel.

Meanwhile, many countries are adopting trade remedies for products imported from China. 

Thailand is conducting a probe into Chinese steel to take anti-dumping measures against some Chinese exporters.

Cheap made-in-China steel is flooding the Thai market, leaving local firms’ production reaching only 30 percent of their capacity.

Many economic experts believe that trade remedies will act as an effective tool to protect domestic producers from the unfair competition related to imported goods.

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