Ministry to boost trade defence measures in line with int’l commitments

As trade protectionism is forecast to grow further around the world in 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is set to step up trade defence measures in accordance with international law and commitments.

Lê Triều Dũng, Director of the MoIT’s Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV), said the ministry will accelerate current trade remedy probes into imports so as to take timely action to protect domestic manufacturers.

An early warning system on trade remedy risks for certain exports will be completed this year so that enterprises can gear themselves up early.

Additionally, MoIT will coordinate with relevant agencies to boost action against origin fraud and illegal transhipments aimed at evading trade remedies, while working to improve the trade remedy-related capacity of domestic businesses and State agencies, Dũng said.

Since becoming a member of the WTO and free trade agreements (FTAs), Việt Nam has opened its market and slashed import tariffs on a large number of goods, exposing its businesses to strong competition from imports.