Home / Lights & Construction

On July 25, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the preliminary findings of an anti-circumvention investigation into hardwood plywood products imported from Vietnam. Hardwood plywood refers to a product in which one or two layers of hardwood are covered on the surface of a multi-layered plywood. At present, the United States is levying 183.36% anti-dumping duties and 22.98%-194.90% countervailing duties on such products from China.

According to U.S. Customs statistics, Vietnam’s exports of hardwood plywood to the U.S. have increased continuously since 2018, including $112.3 million in 2018, $226.4 million in 2019, $248.5 million in 2020, and $356.7 million in 2021.

The Trade Defense Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam stated that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s preliminary investigation determined that if the inner core of Vietnamese plywood uses veneer raw materials imported from China, it will be subject to the same anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties as plywood imported from China. The veneer raw materials imported from other countries will not be subject to anti-dumping and countervailing duties.

Based on the above preliminary conclusions, the U.S. Department of Commerce recommends that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continue to suspend the settlement of companies that have taken trade defense measures, and requires importers to report on June 17, 2020 (the time to inform the investigation) After that, each batch of goods exported from Vietnam to the United States will pay a deposit according to the temporary anti-evasion tax rate.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Commerce allows Vietnamese exporters and U.S. importers to participate in the self-certification mechanism in order to be excluded from the countervailing investigation list. This self-certification mechanism does not apply to companies assessed by the US Department of Commerce as "failed to provide information as required by the US Department of Commerce during the investigation process, or the information provided is insufficient or inaccurate". It is estimated that during the investigation phase, the export value of Vietnamese enterprises participating in the self-certification mechanism accounted for about 80% of Vietnam's total export value of such products.

The Bureau of Trade and Defense suggests that relevant parties have the right to submit comments in text form on the preliminary findings of the U.S. Department of Commerce (the specific time will be notified later). Submit to the U.S. Department of Commerce within 30 days of The Commerce Department is expected to conduct a review to confirm the information before publishing the final findings.

According to the Trade Defense Agency, in the latest notification, the time for the U.S. Department of Commerce to announce the final investigation conclusion of the case has been extended to October 17, 2022.