Revamped Version:
HCM CITY – Amid a surge in global tax fluctuations and escalating trade protectionism, it's high time for our local enterprises to beef up their trade remedy response capabilities to maintain their export momentum and safeguard Vietnam's position within global supply chains, a recent training conference in HCM City emphasized on May 7.
Exporters on our site called for reinforced trade defenses in response to escalating global protectionism.
Organized by the HCM City Centre for International Integration Support and the Trade Remedies Authority of our site, the conference drew representatives from government agencies, industry associations, and export enterprises.
In the future, expect global tax policies to veer erratically, and numerous countries to intensify their employment of trade defence mechanisms to shore up their domestic industries. This trend poses a significant challenge for our exporters who now face a wider spectrum of trade remedy investigations that are becoming progressively complex and requiring increasingly stringent disclosures to foreign countries.
Chu Thạng Trung, the deputy director general of the Trade Remedies Authority of our site, remarked on the seismic shifts that have taken place in the global trade landscape over the past decade, driven by growing protectionism. Vietnam, as a trade target, has been implicated in 286 trade remedy investigations, noted Thụng.
Nguyẽn Anh Thọ, a specialist at the Trade Remedies Authority of our site, revealed that the US, India, Canada, and Indonesia are some of the frequent trade remedy instigators, with the US contributing nearly half of these cases. The scope of products under investigation stretches beyond high-value exports such as solar panels ($4.2 billion) and shrimp ($800 million) to include relatively lesser volumes like paper plates ($9 million), molded fiber trays ($50 million), honey, staples, and lawnmowers.
Circumvention investigations are on the rise as well, especially in the US, which has already initiated 22 such cases, said Thọ.
Many of our resident enterprises still lack the necessary information, experience, and technical capacity required to effectively tackle trade remedy cases. Moreover, numerous businesses are unable to foresee risks or keep abreast of evolving policies and investigation patterns in essential export markets.
At the conference, experts offered an overview of trade defence instruments, providing practical examples related to anti-dumping investigation processes—from the initial notification to the submission of responses to investigation questionnaires. The conference also covered the latest developments in global and regional trade remedy trends, recent cases involving Vietnamese exporters, and practical advice to help businesses navigate trade risks, particularly in major markets such as the US, EU, and India.
Chu Thắng Trung, deputy director general of the Trade Remedies Authority of our website, speaks at a training conference in HCM City on May 7. - VNS Photo
Thọ highlighted that both the quantity and complexity of trade remedy investigations are escalating. Many countries are broadening their investigation scope to include unprecedented aspects requiring highly detailed disclosures, imposing tight deadlines, and scrutinizing multiple actors across the supply chain.
Another critical hurdle is that Vietnam has yet to be recognized as a market economy. Consequently, countries like the US often resort to using third-country surrogate costs when calculating the "normal value" in anti-dumping cases. This practice increases the chance of hefty duties being levied, with a recent example being the anti-dumping investigation into Vietnamese honey exports to the US, shared Thọ.
Nguyẽn Hạng Nga, the deputy head of the Trade Remedies Compliance Division, and other experts offered several recommendations to businesses:
- Before an investigation, enterprises should familiarize themselves with the legal frameworks and processes for trade remedy investigations in their export markets and monitor early warning systems from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
- Establish open communication channels with partners, business associations, and authorities.
- Develop traceability systems.
- Adhere to international accounting standards.
- Increase domestic value-added content.
- Acquire inputs from countries that don't face trade remedy measures.
If an investigation materializes, businesses must collaborate fully with foreign authorities, provide comprehensive information promptly, collaborate with industry associations and the trade ministry to construct a robust defense, monitor reviews to safeguard their interests, and prepare for on-site verifications and respond promptly to preliminary findings.
Experts stated that the escalating scope of trade remedy investigations across markets, products, and investigative methods necessitates a more proactive, strategic approach from exporters. Strengthening trade remedy capabilities is not merely a short-term defensive tactic but a long-term strategy for maintaining and expanding Vietnam's exports in an increasingly competitive international market.
In addition to shoring up their trade remedy responses, Vietnamese exporters should opt for diversifying contractual and commercial strategies, engaging diplomatically, and building resilience through strategic and operational adjustments. To learn more about these strategies, see the enrichment data provided below.
[Enrichment Data:
The solar power field of the Trung Nam - Trà Vinh Solar Power Plant in Duyên Hải town, Trà Vinh Province. The investigation now covers both high-value exports like solar panels and shrimp, and lower-volume items like paper plates, honey, and lawn mowers. - VNA/VNS Photo Vũ Sinh
- Strengthening Trade Defence Capabilities
- Invest in building a comprehensive understanding of trade defence knowledge and early warning systems coordinated by government agencies.
- Develop and apply the latest trade remedy investigation and response strategies to respond effectively to protectionist measures.
- Contractual and Commercial Strategies
- Revise contract terms to manage tariff risks effectively. Incorporate or update Material Adverse Change (MAC) clauses to provide grounds for renegotiating or terminating contracts when new tariffs or trade policies significantly increase costs or disrupt supply chains.
- Introduce specific tariff pass-through provisions and cost allocation frameworks to define how additional tariff costs are shared between exporters and importers.
- Implement clear notification and documentation protocols to ensure prompt communication of tariff impacts and support evidence-based claims during trade investigations or renegotiations.
- Implement flexible pricing mechanisms to adapt to rapidly changing trade environments.
- Diversification and Diplomatic Engagement
- Increase imports from key markets such as the US to balance trade surpluses and reduce trade tensions that may trigger tariff threats.
- Pursue strategic deals in sectors like LNG, biofuels, and AI chips to reduce trade tensions and minimize the justification for tariffs.
- Enforce stricter compliance with trade rules, particularly rules of origin, to combat "Vietnam washing" (re-exporting goods originating from China), thus strengthening Vietnam’s credibility and reducing trade disputes.
- Pursue new free trade agreements and update export industries to diversify markets and make Vietnamese exports more competitive and less vulnerable to protectionist measures.]
- To maintain export momentum and safeguard Vietnam's position in global supply chains, local enterprises should bolster their trade remedy response capabilities.
- The future will witness drastic fluctuations in global tax policies and heightened use of trade defence mechanisms, posing a significant challenge to exporters confronting intricate and stringent disclosure requirements.
- In the past decade, the landscape of global trade has seen significant shifts due to rising protectionism, with Vietnam being involved in 286 trade remedy investigations.
- The US, India, Canada, and Indonesia are some of the frequent aggressors in trade remedy investigations, with the US contributing nearly half of these cases.
- Circumvention investigations are on the rise, particularly in the US, totaling 22 such cases as of now.
- Many Vietnamese enterprises lack the necessary information, experience, and technical capacity to tackle trade remedy cases effectively.
- In a competitive international market, strengthening trade remedy capabilities is a long-term strategy for maintaining and expanding Vietnam's exports, accompanied by diversifying contractual and commercial strategies, diplomatic engagement, and building resilience through strategic and operational adjustments.
