Deputy head of the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam Chu Thang Trung (Source: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – Vietnamese importers and exporters should stay alertand take a proactive approach to risks posed by the unpredictable development ofthe US-China trade tension, experts said at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City onMarch 22.
Deputy head of theTrade Remedies Authority of Vietnam Chu Thang Trung said that the trade warbetween the two largest economies of the world has been affecting the goodstrading flow, and increasing the US’s trade defence investigations against itsbig importers.
It has also forced thetwo countries’ enterprises to seek ways to intensify exports to third countries,putting import pressure on other markets, including Vietnam, Trung stated.
According to him, ifthe trade war is not solved early, there is a great risk for Vietnameseexporters to be subject to trade defence investigation and measures of the US.
He cited as examplesseveral cases in the past, when the US’s investigation and trade defence tax targetingChinese products were usually followed by measures against the same kinds ofVietnamese product 3-4 years later.
Lawyer Nguyen ThiPhuong Thao from IDVN Lawyers Firm said that the biggest risk of the tradetension for Vietnamese enterprises is the transfer of commodities from China toVietnam. She said Chinese goods will enter Vietnam in the form of temporaryimport for re-export or for simple processing in order to gain Vietnameseorigin, and then be exported to the US.
This move will helpChinese goods avoid high taxes, but it will be a good reason for the US toconduct an investigation and apply trade defence against Vietnamese products.
Therefore, she advisedVietnamese businesses to keep themselves up to date regarding trade defencemeasures imposed on products of China and other competitors. They should alsothink twice before using materials originated from China and other countrieswhich are subject to US trade defence measures.
Meanwhile, Chau VietBac, Vice Secretary General of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC),suggested Vietnamese firms to take the initiative in assessing risks, avoidgetting involved in the transfer of goods from China, and well keep documentson origins of products and materials.-VNA
VNA
