According to the latest information from the Trade Defense Department – Ministry of Industry and Trade. July 25, 2022, US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced the preliminary conclusion of the investigation into evasion of trade remedies for plywood using hardwood materials imported from Vietnam.. Plywood using hardwood materials is a product made from layers of peeled wood glued together with glue, then covered with one or two layers of hardwood boards on the surface. The United States is imposing anti-dumping duties (Anti-dumping) and anti-subsidy taxes (CTC) For this Chinese product, the anti-dumping tax rate is 183,36% and CTC from 22,98% to 194,90%.
According to US customs statistics, Vietnam's export turnover of plywood using hardwood materials to the United States continuously increased from 112,3 million US dollars in 2018 to 226,4 million US dollars in 2019, 248,5 million US dollars in 2020 and 356,7 million USD in 2021. Compared to the year before the investigation was initiated (2019), Vietnam's export turnover of plywood using hardwood materials to the United States in 2021 increased by 57%.,6%. DOC's preliminary conclusion is that plywood from Vietnam, if it has a core using peeled plywood imported from China, will be subject to anti-dumping and CTC taxes as currently applied to plywood imported from China.. Plywood from Vietnam, if the core is made from peeled boards produced in Vietnam or other countries, is not subject to anti-dumping and CTC taxes..

Based on this preliminary conclusion, DOC will refer to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continue to stop liquidity and require importers to pay deposits equal to the provisional anti-avoidance tax rate for shipments imported from Vietnam to the United States since June 17, 2020 (date of notification of initiation of investigation) for cases that are subject to measures.

DOC allows Vietnamese exporters as well as US importers to participate in the self-certification mechanism to be excluded from circumvention measures.. This self-certification mechanism will not apply to businesses that DOC assesses as not providing information or providing incomplete information., exactly as required by DOC during the investigation process. According to calculations, The number of businesses participating in self-certification accounted for about 80% of Vietnam's export turnover during the investigation period..

Stakeholders have the right to submit written comments on the DOC's preliminary conclusions (Deadline will be announced later) and a written request for a hearing on the comments must be submitted to DOC within 30 days of the date of notification of preliminary findings.. DOC also plans to conduct verification to verify information before issuing a final conclusion.

According to the latest announcement, DOC extends the time to issue final conclusions in this case until October 17, 2022./.