On May 15, 2023, the US Department of Commerce officially issued a notice to initiate an anti-dumping investigation of steel shelving products from Vietnam.
The product under investigation is Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale with HS code 9403.200075.
According to preliminary data from the United States International Trade Commission (USITC), Vietnam exports about 32.74 million USD of investigated products to the United States in 2022, equivalent to 437,000 units. The total amount of products exported from Vietnam to the United States accounts for about 15.5% of the total export turnover of countries to the United States.
Thereby, Vietnam ranked 4th among the exporting countries of Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged investigational products to the United States, after Taiwan, China, and Thailand.
In addition, data from USITC also informs that Vietnam exports 426 thousand units of products worth 27.21 million USD to the United States in 2020 and 492 thousand units worth 29.59 million USD in 2021.
The case has code A-552-835. The plaintiff is Edsal Manufacturing CO., INC. (United States) that met the eligibility criteria to file an initiation of an investigation, filed the application on April 25, 2023. The application was approved, initiated a formal investigation as of May 15, 2023.
The investigation period is from October 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023. The margin of dumping alleged in the petition ranges from 92.60% – 224.94%.
Anti-dumping investigation of steel shelving products from Vietnam
It is expected that the next important milestones that need attention that businesses related to investigation products need to pay attention to include:
1. ITC issue Preliminary Decision: June 9, 2023.
2. ITA issue Preliminary Decision: October 2, 2023.
3. ITA issue Final Decision: December 18, 2023.
4. ITC issue Final Decision: February 1, 2024.
5. Issuance of the official order: February 8, 2024.
It should be noted that the above timelines may change if the investigating agencies need more time to investigate and review the case and respond to the feedback of the parties.
Currently, the US Department of Commerce has issued a Questionnaire on Quantity and Value (Q&V) for Vietnamese businesses with a response deadline of May 30, 2023.
In particular, the DOC will select a few mandatory defendants in the case based on the information answered to the above questionnaire combined with data from the US Customs. These defendants will continue to receive requests for more detailed questionnaires. After completing the procedures, the defendants will be entitled to a separate duty rate, which may be lower or higher than the general duty rate (Other duty rate) for all Vietnamese enterprises.
In addition, companies that are not selected for further investigation can apply for separate duty rates. The deadline for filing an application for the individual duty rate is 30 days from the date of initiation of the case.
During the upcoming investigation, Vietnamese businesses should contact a reputable law firm on anti-dumping and trade remedies in Vietnam and internationally to receive timely support. In addition, measures businesses can take initiative immediately is to register for an IA ACCESS account at the DOC's web portal (https://access.trade.gov/login.aspx) to update information on the US investigation.
However, answering the questionnaires correctly and enough in a way that benefits themselves can create obstacles for many businesses that do not have professional knowledge on trade remedies, so the consultation service of law firms is essential, to avoid the imposition of unfavorable duty rates.
The Initiation Notice can be downloaded here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
