Right after the U.S. Department of Commerce’s preliminary conclusion identifying welded stainless steel pressure pipes imported from Vietnam as being dumped on the U.S. market, with the final result set to be released on May 17, experts warned that there would be no way for local firms to export steel products to the U.S.

Speaking with the Daily on Wednesday, steel expert Dinh Huy Tam said that the value of welded stainless steel pressure pipes was three times higher than that of normal items, at about over US$2,000 a ton.

Therefore, even with the low threshold rate of 17.7%, local steel exporters will suffer losses, meaning steel exports to the U.S. will be impossible, said Tam, who is also the former general secretary of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

According to another VSA representative, a number of enterprises including Hoa Binh Stainless Company and Huu Lien A Chau in the country are making welded stainless steel pressure pipes besides others that are not the association’s members.

As per the complaint from several American stainless steel makers, the value of Vietnamese welded stainless steel pipes exported to the U.S. has been on the rise, posting US$13 million, US$17 million and US$18 million in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. In 2012, Vietnam exported around 4,700 tons of welded stainless steel pipes to the U.S., making up some 6.6% of that country’s total imports of such steel products.

The U.S. Department of Commerce on July 23, 2013 initiated anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations against steel pipes imported from Vietnam. The anti-dumping tax rate that U.S. steel producers proposed against Vietnamese steel pipes is 111%.

This is the fourth lawsuit by the U.S. against steel product imports from Vietnam since 2011. Along with welded stainless steel pressure pipes, welded carbon-quality steel pipes, steel hangers and steel pipes have faced the anti-dumping lawsuits initiated by the U.S.

Steel exports totaled around 2.2 million tons worth nearly US$1.8 billion in 2013, the General Statistics Office reports. The country meanwhile imported 9.4 million tons of steel with a total value of roughly US$6.6 billion in 2013, resulting in a steel trade deficit of about US$4.8 billion, according to the office.

Source: Vietmaz.com

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