After Indonesia slaps anti-dumping duties of 13.5-36.6% on Vietnam’s cold-rolled steel, Thailand will likely bring up an anti-dumping case against Vietnam’s color-coated steel sheets due to an upsurge in export of this item to Thailand.
The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) said on Tuesday the metal-plated and color-coated steel sheet association of Thailand late last year had issued the second warning, saying that it would file a petition or put up a trade defense against Vietnamese steelmakers.
The Thai association said the volume of color-coated steel sheet exported from Vietnam to Thailand did not fall but kept surging after its first warning in October 2012.
From November 2011 to July 2012, Vietnam exported around 1,000-3,000 tons of color-coated steel sheets per month to Thailand. The export volume rose to 6,000 tons a month in August and September and then, nearly 10,000 tons in October.
In the second warning sent to VSA in December 2012, Korrakod Padungjitt, chairman of the metal-plated and color-coated steel sheet association of Thailand, stressed color-coated steel sheets from Vietnam were posing a threat to Thai producers. This is the reason why the association is considering trade defense or anti-dumping petition against Vietnamese steelmakers.
VSA has recently sent a dispatch to local steelmakers, telling them to get prepared for the worst. In addition, the association has requested the companies exporting color-coated steel sheets to Thailand to control their export volumes and prices to avoid making the situation more complicated.
Local steelmakers now have a capacity to produce 2.6 million tons of metal-plated and color-coated steel sheets every year, far exceeding the domestic demand. Therefore, they have to boost export and face a high risk of dumping accusations.
In 2012, the sales volume of construction steel was only 4.5 million tons, down 10% against 2011. However, consumption of other steel products such as steel pipes, cold-rolled steel and galvanized steel sheets increased 20-40%, leading to growth of 3% in total steel demand.
Given the difficulties in 2013, VSA forecast steel consumption will only pick up 2-3%. In January-November 2012, Vietnam had exported over two million tons of steel, bringing in more than US$1.6 billion.
The Saigon Times Daily
