The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance (MoF) has decided to raise steel import tariffs by 1 per cent-3 per cent from April 1 with a view to limiting the soaring influx of cheap steels.
Under the ministry's decision, import tax of steel ingots will be raised by 3 per cent to 8 per cent, while that of cold-rolled steel and steel sheet will be up to 8 per cent from the current 7 per cent.
Import tariffs of rolled steel with diameter of 6-10mm, and steel bars will be 15 per cent from the current 12 per cent.
Domestic steel producers are facing a tough time due to the soaring imports of low-cost steel from ASEAN countries and others, said the MoIT. At present, prices of rolled steel imported from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand are VND100,000-VND200,000/ton lower than Vietnamese steel in the domestic market.
According to the Vietnamese customs’ statistics, 220,000 tons of finished steel were imported into Vietnam in the first half of February, and 210,000 tons in the whole January.
Total steel consumption in the first quarter of this year hits 698,000 tons, down 29 per cent on year, said Nguyen Tien Nghi, vice chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association.
Steel production output during the period reaches 761,000 tons, down 24 per cent from a year earlier, Nghi added.
At present, domestic steel producers report about 220,000 tons of finished steel and 390,000 tons of steel ingots in stock now. (Labor, Youth)
Vietnamese
