Vietnam’s ministry of industry and trade has extended its safeguard duties on steel bars and billets imported into the country. These safeguard measures are to help local steel enterprises tide over the economic impact of COVID-19.
As per a notification dated March 20, duty on steel billets would be 15.3pc till March 21, 2021. The safeguard duty will subsequently be reduced to 13.3pc, effective till 2022. From March 22, 2022, this duty will be further reduced to 11.3pc for one year, before reducing it to nil.
The duty rates for steel bars would be 9.4pc till March 21, 2021, 7.9pc till March 2022 and 6.4pc till March 21, 2023, after which it will decrease to zero if the safeguards are not renewed.
A few countries from North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America-Caribbean, and some in Europe, Central Asia and South Asia regions will be exempted from these duties.