C/O fraud prevention council to debut next week

HCMC – A council responsible for preventing certificate of origin (C/O) fraud will be launched in Hanoi on October 14, said an expert in the industry.  

Tran Thi Thu Huong, director of the trade documents attesting center of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), told the Daily on the phone that the VCCI-affiliated council would issue early warnings about suspected C/O fraud.

The launch comes at a time when many experts are warning of rising C/O fraud in other countries where companies want to evade anti-dumping tariffs.  

“Enterprises should take caution when signing commercial and investment cooperation contracts with partners for products having high risk of being imposed anti-dumping tariffs,” she said, adding the council would work companies via industry associations.  

The forthcoming council will also work with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to provide advice for foreign companies before they set up shop in Vietnam if their products belong to the list of goods already subject to anti-dumping duties. It aims to prevent the possibility that their products don’t meet requirements for C/Os.

“An early warning will help investment licensing agencies that will in turn let investors know whether their products are eligible for certification of origin or not,” said Huong. “This procedure can prevent foreign investors from building factories without a single production line in Vietnam or with pro forma production facilities just to apply for C/Os.”

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C/O fraud prevention council to debut next week

HCMC – A council responsible for preventing certificate of origin (C/O) fraud will be launched in Hanoi on October 14, said an expert in the industry.  

Tran Thi Thu Huong, director of the trade documents attesting center of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), told the Daily on the phone that the VCCI-affiliated council would issue early warnings about suspected C/O fraud.

The launch comes at a time when many experts are warning of rising C/O fraud in other countries where companies want to evade anti-dumping tariffs.  

“Enterprises should take caution when signing commercial and investment cooperation contracts with partners for products having high risk of being imposed anti-dumping tariffs,” she said, adding the council would work companies via industry associations.  

The forthcoming council will also work with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to provide advice for foreign companies before they set up shop in Vietnam if their products belong to the list of goods already subject to anti-dumping duties. It aims to prevent the possibility that their products don’t meet requirements for C/Os.

“An early warning will help investment licensing agencies that will in turn let investors know whether their products are eligible for certification of origin or not,” said Huong. “This procedure can prevent foreign investors from building factories without a single production line in Vietnam or with pro forma production facilities just to apply for C/Os.”

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Vietnam says to head off U.S. tra anti-dumping tariffs

Tra fish harvested at a farm in the Mekong Delta. Vietnam is trying to prevent the possible U.S. anti-dumping levy on tra imports from Vietnam, which might reach 136% - Photo: Le Toan

HCMC – The agriculture ministry has said the Government would take action if the U.S. imposes new anti-dumping tariffs on tra fish imports from Vietnam, which could amount to 136%.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Le Phuong told reporters in HCMC on Tuesaday that the Government would do something to prevent this; otherwise, it would affect tra exports to other markets.

“Though tra exporters are not totally dependent on America, the levy may set a negative precedent by encouraging other markets like the EU and Middle East to follow suit. That’s why we must make concerted effort to cope with the matter,” Phuong said.

The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) has said unofficially that the anti-dumping tariffs for products of certain Vietnamese seafood exporters might reach 136%. In a review of the tariffs, DOC used the Philippines as the third-country market to determine dumping margins for Vietnamese tra fish, instead of Bangladesh, thus leading the tariffs to rise.

If the new prohibitively high tariffs are imposed in March next year, many tra fish exporters will certainly leave this market.

Andrew B. Schroth, advocate of the Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP who has advised tra fish exporters on the anti-dumping case, said that if DOC took this decision, it could be seen punitive rather than variable from the last time.

“Though the final rates will not be released until six months later, related sides must work very hard in order to divert the decision,” Schroth told the press conference at the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers office in HCMC.

The possible measures which Vietnam should take, he said, include using all available channels in the Philippines, both legal and political, to prove that the choice of the Philippines as a third country to consider as the benchmark is not at all appropriate.

The Philippines is, in many aspects, far different from Vietnam. Labor, business management cost and even the raw material price are higher than in Vietnam, but they were used for the calculation of dumping margins of Vietnam’s tra fish.

A source from the agriculture ministry, who requested anonymity, said earlier that it was due to the growing popularity of the fish on the American market that had resulted in the Catfish Farmers of America (CFA) lobbying against Vietnamese tra fish.

Last week, John Connelly, president of the U.S. National Fisheries Institute, said during his visit to Vietnam that Vietnamese tra had for the first time become one of the most favorite fish in the U.S.

This explains why DOC suddenly shifted to the Philippines as a third country to calculate dumping margins, the ministry source said.

In the previous anti-dumping review, a majority of Vietnamese exporters enjoyed the lowest tariff of 0.52% and some were even recognized as not dumping the fish on the American market.

The anti-dumping tariffs for Vietnamese tra exports to the U.S. have impacted on the local industry since 2003. Last year tra exports to this market totaled US$134 million, about 10% of the total export.

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Vietnam says to head off U.S. tra anti-dumping tariffs

Tra fish harvested at a farm in the Mekong Delta. Vietnam is trying to prevent the possible U.S. anti-dumping levy on tra imports from Vietnam, which might reach 136% - Photo: Le Toan

HCMC – The agriculture ministry has said the Government would take action if the U.S. imposes new anti-dumping tariffs on tra fish imports from Vietnam, which could amount to 136%.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Le Phuong told reporters in HCMC on Tuesaday that the Government would do something to prevent this; otherwise, it would affect tra exports to other markets.

“Though tra exporters are not totally dependent on America, the levy may set a negative precedent by encouraging other markets like the EU and Middle East to follow suit. That’s why we must make concerted effort to cope with the matter,” Phuong said.

The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) has said unofficially that the anti-dumping tariffs for products of certain Vietnamese seafood exporters might reach 136%. In a review of the tariffs, DOC used the Philippines as the third-country market to determine dumping margins for Vietnamese tra fish, instead of Bangladesh, thus leading the tariffs to rise.

If the new prohibitively high tariffs are imposed in March next year, many tra fish exporters will certainly leave this market.

Andrew B. Schroth, advocate of the Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP who has advised tra fish exporters on the anti-dumping case, said that if DOC took this decision, it could be seen punitive rather than variable from the last time.

“Though the final rates will not be released until six months later, related sides must work very hard in order to divert the decision,” Schroth told the press conference at the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers office in HCMC.

The possible measures which Vietnam should take, he said, include using all available channels in the Philippines, both legal and political, to prove that the choice of the Philippines as a third country to consider as the benchmark is not at all appropriate.

The Philippines is, in many aspects, far different from Vietnam. Labor, business management cost and even the raw material price are higher than in Vietnam, but they were used for the calculation of dumping margins of Vietnam’s tra fish.

A source from the agriculture ministry, who requested anonymity, said earlier that it was due to the growing popularity of the fish on the American market that had resulted in the Catfish Farmers of America (CFA) lobbying against Vietnamese tra fish.

Last week, John Connelly, president of the U.S. National Fisheries Institute, said during his visit to Vietnam that Vietnamese tra had for the first time become one of the most favorite fish in the U.S.

This explains why DOC suddenly shifted to the Philippines as a third country to calculate dumping margins, the ministry source said.

In the previous anti-dumping review, a majority of Vietnamese exporters enjoyed the lowest tariff of 0.52% and some were even recognized as not dumping the fish on the American market.

The anti-dumping tariffs for Vietnamese tra exports to the U.S. have impacted on the local industry since 2003. Last year tra exports to this market totaled US$134 million, about 10% of the total export.

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• Vietnam says to head off U.S. tra anti-dumping tariffs
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• Poor rural children blaze education trail

Bikes crippled by anti-dumping legacy

HCM CITY — The EU has lifted the anti-dumping tax that broke the back of Vietnamese bicycle manufacturers after it was imposed five years ago, but this is unlikely to revive the fortunes of the once-successful industry.

In its heyday between 2000 and 2005, the Vietnamese bike manufacturing industry held 11.7 per cent of the European market, exporting up to 1.1 million bikes a year.

But in July 2005, the EU slapped a 34.5 per cent anti-dumping tax and things have been going downhill since. Last year, Vietnamese exports were down to a mere 21,000.

"To develop again, Viet Nam should get the 3.5 per cent import tax under the EU's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)," Chau Vinh Chi, export director of Asama Yu Jiun International Viet Nam, said.

Even though the anti-dumping tax was lifted last month Vietnamese bicycle exporters still pay 10 per cent import tax plus other taxes.

In the past, Asama used to export 400,000 bicycles each year, employed 1,500 workers, and outsourced to 20 contract manufacturers. "Customers are discussing new contracts with us. If we get the GSP, we can return to past levels within three months," Chi said.

But there is a catch: only countries on which the EU has never imposed anti-dumping tariffs qualify for the GSP.

While enterprises worry about the GSP, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is anxious about a return of anti-dumping taxes because of the rampant fraud committed in the country by foreign manufacturers trying to take advantage of the lower taxes on Vietnamese bicycles.

Measures

"If we do not have strong and efficient measures to stop illegal bicycles from nations affected by anti-dumping tax entering the country, the EU might resurrect the tax within six months," Vu Ba Phu, head of the ministry's Competition Management Department, warned.

"Companies should not make bicycles for foreign partners to avoid tax fraud."

He urged relevant authorities to work closely with the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which grants certificates of origin (C/O) to manufacturers, and organise workshops regularly to keep the companies informed.

The Department has written to all investment and planning departments to carefully check new cycle manufacturers to see if they meet C/O requirements, especially for manufacturing bodies.

The department said there could be three common ways in which fraud is committed.

The first could be by manufacturers from countries suffering anti-dumping tariffs who simply fake the origin as being Vietnamese.

Others could bring their products into Viet Nam and affix a "made in Viet Nam" label.

The third method could involve setting up a basic plant in Viet Nam, importing most parts from outside, and assembling in the country to get the C/O.

Phu said if the illegal projects were detected and eliminated, Viet Nam could avoid anti-dumping tariffs.

"It is the best way to protect our businesses' rights as well as Viet Nam's image," he said. — VNS