On the afternoon of June 15, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Decision 1578/QD-BCT, applying anti-dumping tax and anti-subsidy tax on a number of cane sugar products originating from the Kingdom of Thailand. Specifically, imported sugar cane under HS codes 1701.13.00, 1701.14.00, 1701.99.10, 1701.99.90, 1702.90.91 will be subject to an official anti-dumping tax of 42.99% and an anti-dumping duty rate. the official subsidy is 4.65%. These two taxes are additional import taxes, applied to imported sugar cane originating from Thailand, including imports under tariff quotas. This decision has a term of 5 years, effective from June 16, Before that, the final investigation conclusion of the investigating agency determined that some Thai sugarcane products had dumping behavior, subsidized imports of the goods under investigation; The domestic industry is suffering significant injury and there is a causal relationship between the imports of the dumped and subsidized goods and the substantial injury to the domestic industry. In order to have a basis for determining the origin of imported goods subject to the application of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tax, the customs authority will check the documents certifying the origin of goods, including: origin of goods (C/O), or proof of origin in accordance with the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and EU (EVFTA), UKVFTA… Previously, on May 12, the Trade Remedies Administration (Ministry of Industry and Trade) held a public consultation (online form) with the participation of 80 delegates representing groups of stakeholders including: Governments, businesses, associations of Thailand and Vietnam. At the consultation, a representative of the domestic industry said that the Thai sugar industry is supported by the Government from controlling the domestic market (supporting fixed prices, dividing market shares), controlling imports, export subsidies, direct financial support of 1.3 billion USD/year, debt financing, input subsidies, so when entering Vietnam, it caused serious damage to the industry, so it is recommended to impose taxes. Pursuant to the provisions of the Law on Foreign Trade Management, on September 21, 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Decision No. 2466/QD-BCT on the initiation of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation on cane sugar with originating from Thailand on the basis of the application dossier of the representative of the domestic industry. Implementing Vietnam’s commitments in ASEAN regarding the application of tariff quotas under the WTO, Vietnam has abolished tariff quotas on sugar imports for ASEAN countries since January 1, 2020. In the first eight months of 2020, the amount of cane sugar imported into Vietnam increased dramatically, reaching nearly 950,000 tons, an increase of more than 6 times over the same period in 2019. In which, the amount of cane sugar imported from Thailand into Vietnam accounting for a major proportion, reaching nearly 860,000 tons (compared to the same period in 2019 it was 145,000 tons and the whole year 2019 was 300,000 tons). According to a representative of the domestic industry, the sudden increase in imports is the main cause of damage to the domestic sugar industry. The domestic production of cane sugar in the 2019-2020 crop year is estimated at less than 800,000 tons, down from 1.2 million tons in the 2018-2019 crop year. In addition, the domestic industry has also provided information and evidence that cane sugar products imported from Thailand are being dumped into Vietnam and the Thai Government has been maintaining some subsidy policy for sugarcane farming activities of farmers and the sugar industry.

A representative of the Trade Remedies Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that the investigation and application of trade remedies, specifically the application of anti-dumping and anti-dumping measures on a number of cane sugar products originating from Thailand imported from Thailand. imported into Vietnam, has been implemented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in accordance with the provisions of the law on foreign trade management, as well as in accordance with international practices, based on objective and verifiable grounds and evidence. real. After more than 5 months of investigation (since September 2020), based on the investigation results, and before making the final conclusion of the case, on May 12, 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Trade held a meeting hold a consultation session to listen to the opinions of all interested parties. The final conclusion of the Investigation Agency of the case, determined that there was an act of dumping and subsidizing the imported goods under investigation (cane sugar products originating from Thailand), causing significant damage to the domestic manufacturing industry; there is a causal relationship between imports of dumped and subsidized goods and substantial injury to the domestic industry. On that basis, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has decided to impose an official anti-dumping tax of 42.99% and an official financial tax of 4.65%. Anti-dumping tax, CTC is an additional import tax, applied to imported cane sugar originating from Thailand, including imports under tariff quotas. The time limit for application of anti-dumping tax and financial tax is officially 05 years from the date on which the decision on application of anti-dumping tax and financial tax officially takes effect (unless it is changed or extended according to another decision of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. ). Illustration Regarding the application of anti-dumping and anti-dumping duties, effective retroactively, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said, based on the final investigation conclusions and data of the General Department of Customs on the import situation of investigated goods. The Ministry of Industry and Trade determined that there was no sudden increase in the volume or quantity of dumped and subsidized goods entering Vietnam in the period from the time the investigation was conducted until the application of the CBGP tax. and temporary CTC. Therefore, there is not enough basis to apply anti-dumping and anti-dumping measures taken effect in advance according to Clause 4, Article 81 and Clause 4, Article 89, Law on Foreign Trade Management. In order to have a basis for determining the origin of imported goods subject to anti-dumping tax and CTC, according to Decision 1578/QD-BCT, the customs authority will check the documents certifying the origin of goods. , including: Certificate of Origin (C/O); documents certifying the origin of goods in accordance with the provisions of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. Free Trade Vietnam – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Accordingly, if the customs declarant submits documents certifying the origin of goods from a country or territory other than the Kingdom of Thailand, the official anti-dumping tax and CTC is not required. If the customs declarant submits proof of origin from the Kingdom of Thailand or fails to submit the proof of origin, the official anti-dumping tax and CTC as mentioned above (anti-dumping tax is 42.99%, CTC tax is 4.65%). The Ministry of Industry and Trade also said that in case the anti-dumping tax and the official CTC are lower than the provisional anti-corruption tax and the provisional CTC (the tax rate is temporarily applied when there is no final investigation conclusion and the official tax is imposed). This tax difference will be refunded. Pursuant to current legal regulations, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the investigating agency will notify the receipt of application for exemption after the Ministry of Industry and Trade issues a decision to apply trade remedies. A quick information to the reporter of the Industry and Trade Newspaper right after learning that the Ministry of Industry and Trade officially applied anti-dumping tax and CTC tax on imported sugar originating from Thailand, a leader of the Vietnam Sugar Association, said. : The Vietnam Sugar Association is quite satisfied with Decision 1578/QD-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This is a timely decision, which will make an important contribution to support the development of Vietnam’s sugar industry, when in the context of integration, the sugar industry has faced great challenges due to the unfair competition of the sugar industry. imported sugar (mainly imported from Thailand) due to subsidies, dumping, and smuggling into the Vietnamese market. Compared with the previous decision to impose anti-dumping tax and temporary CTC, the official anti-dumping tax and CTC also eliminated the difference between raw sugar and refined sugar.