TIẾNG VIỆT Vietnam initiates anti-dumping investigation on sugar imported from Thailand
Photo: congthuong.vn
Since eliminating the tariff quota on sugar imported from ASEAN, the sugar volume imported into Vietnam from Thailand increased sharply.
In the first eight months of 2020, Vietnam imported sugar reached nearly 950,000 tons, a six times higher than the same period of 2019. In which, the amount of sugar imported from Thailand was 860,000 tons, while imported sugar from the country was 145,000 in the same period last year, the ministry said.
The sugar production for crop year 2019/2020 was estimated at 800,000 tons, down from 1.2 million tons in crop year 2018/2019.
The Vietnam Sugar Association wants to apply safeguard measures under the provisions of the ASEAN protocol on special treatment of rice and sugar or under the Safeguard Agreement of the World Trade Organization, according to a news website run by the General Department of Customs.
Vietnam currently only opens its market to sugar imported from ASEAN, trade remedies should be applied to these countries, trade ministry said.
Thailand is the main sugar exporter to Vietnam market. There is a lot of evidence that Thailand is subsidizing the sugar industry, leading to Thai sugar being sold at dumping price not only in the region but also globally.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said the most effective and fairest solution is to initiate an investigation for cases of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy for Thai sugar.
Regarding this issue, the Vietnam Sugar Association said that some enterprises imported raw sugar from Thailand to Laos for refining and then export to Vietnam to evade trade remedies.
With the special relationship of Vietnam-Laos, Vietnam-Cambodia, it is difficult for Vietnam to apply an anti-evasive tax to these activities, the customs news website reported.
