Preventive measures to deal with trade defence

When tariff barriers are reduced, there is a trend among some nations to strengthen trade protectionism for their domestic industries by applying trade defence measures.
preventive measures to deal with trade defence hinh 0

Experts warn businesses to take preventive measures to avoid losing export markets in the coming time.

According to the Department of Trade Defence under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam has faced a total of more than 130 trade safeguard lawsuits, including 77 anti-dumping lawsuits, 10 anti-subsidy investigations, 22 self-defence investigations and 17 tax avoidance and evasion investigations.

Most of these cases have been lodged by the US, Turkey, India, the EU and Australia. Steel products like cold-rolled steel have been selected for regular investigation, with 30 lawsuits having been launched.

Five trends of trade defence

Many nations in the world have erected barriers such as trade defence instruments to restrict free trade. Ms Tran Lan Huong from the Department of Trade Defence points out that five trends of trade defence lawsuits will be applied.

Firstly, class action lawsuits have become popular practise, which means that a lawsuit is filed by numerous nations at the same time. Products subject to trade defence investigations are closely associated with the goods of other nations, which have posted higher export turnovers.

The second trend is in lawsuits against tax avoidance and evasion. All cases of tariff avoidance for Vietnam relate to accusations of avoiding taxes from China. Therefore, when the tariffs were imposed on China, Vietnamese businesses have faced risks of competing fiercely with the products in markets which slap duties on China.

MsHuong says when the incident has happened to China, similar incidents will also happen to Vietnam over the next two years in the form of anti-dumping, tax avoidance and evasion.

The third trend is the domino lawsuit. When a country files a lawsuit, other nations will follow their lead and lodge further lawsuits. This means that when Vietnam is sued on one market, it is not certain that the nation will escape lawsuits from other markets.

Many businesses think that their products are exported to multiple markets and if the US investigates their products and imposes duties, they will easily drop this market. However, businesses are unable to foresee whether or not their products will be subject to lawsuits in their remaining markets. The fourth trend is the double lawsuit and anti-dumping and anti-subsidy lawsuits are launched at the same time. These measures are taken by major countries or economic areas such as the US, EU, and Canada.

Ms Huong says there is a worrying trend that foreign nations have conducted investigations by imposing measures to limit imports due to national security.

Phan Khanh An from the Department of Trade Defence says businesses can lose their markets if lawsuits are filed. For example, the US imposed countervailing duties on imports of steel nails from Vietnam in 2014. As a result, their export value fell from U$36 million to US$800,000 in 2015.

Vietnamese stainless steel pressure pipes also suffered anti-dumping duties from the US in 2013, leading to their export value dropping from US$178 million to US$87 million in 2014 and 2015.

Brazil also slapped anti-dumping tariffs on Vietnamese tyre exports in 2012, leading to the export value plummeting from US$5.7 million to US$1.9 million in 2013 and US$650,000 in 2014 and just US$575,000 million in 2015.

The figure has shown that trade defence measures can block products from penetrating markets and seriously affect export businesses, says Mr An.

Huong warns that businesses need to avoid these cases by diversifying their export markets to curb their losses. In markets which have applied trade defence instruments like the US and India, businesses should learn more about their laws and regulations and discover whether these nations have previously imposed trade defence measures on any nation. When the lawsuit is filed, businesses need to deal with the incident by all means.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade recommends businesses consider hiring lawyers to provide consultancy on trade defence measures, which involve complicated issues related to economics, accountancy, finance and law. Businesses need to gain insights into agencies’ methods of investigation to properly prepare documents for any lawsuits.

Lastly, businesses need to identify their strategy and targets, as they can lose costs in such lawsuits but can prevent similar incidents in other markets in future.

At the same time, the ministry advises businesses to reinforce solidarity and cooperation to deal with the similar cases, as foreign nations have imposed tariffs on the Vietnamese market, not specific businesses.

VOV

Other News

SBV raises short-term capital lending cap to 40%

SBV raises short-term capital lending cap to 40%

The new circular will help credit institutions have more room to provide capital to businesses and investment projects to support high economic growth in the next few years, while increasing flexibility in the SBV’s monetary policy management.

Business confidence in Vietnam rebounds strongly: UOB

Business confidence in Vietnam rebounds strongly: UOB

The study found that 85% of Vietnamese enterprises reported positive business sentiment, a sharp increase from 48% in 2025, when business confidence was weighed down by uncertainties surrounding US tariff policies and related trade developments.

Bac Ninh seeks high-quality foreign investment for sustainable growth

Bac Ninh seeks high-quality foreign investment for sustainable growth

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Pham Van Thinh, the province aims to maintain stable and sustainable growth, improve the competitiveness of both the economy and local businesses, and make better use of free trade agreements (FTAs) to expand and diversify export markets.

Green building trend flourishes in Ho Chi Minh City's real estate landscape

Green building trend flourishes in Ho Chi Minh City's real estate landscape

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) highlighted the city's dominance in green-certified building floor space in Vietnam, reflecting the rapid expansion of the green building market with 780 completed green buildings encompassing over 18.69 million sq.m by 2025, predominantly certified by EDGE and LEED.

UK supports Vietnam in wind power and green finance development

UK supports Vietnam in wind power and green finance development

The United Kingdom officially announced two new climate cooperation initiatives to support Vietnam in its energy transition and green growth journey. These programs focus on offshore wind power development and the creation of a sustainable green financial ecosystem.

Ample room remains for Vietnam–India logistics cooperation

Ample room remains for Vietnam–India logistics cooperation

The GTTCI expert noted that alongside logistics and integrated warehousing, e-commerce is expected to be a particularly high-growth sector in the coming years. He described it as a multi-billion-dollar market with significant untapped opportunities for cooperation between Vietnam and India.

Exports gain momentum from high-tech growth drivers

Exports gain momentum from high-tech growth drivers

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s exports reached 215.66 billion USD in the first five months of 2026, up 19.5% year-on-year. Twenty-six export items generated more than 1 billion USD in revenue each, including seven with turnover exceeding 10 billion USD.

Vietnam–China crossings see spike in ASEAN fresh produce

Vietnam–China crossings see spike in ASEAN fresh produce

Since the start of the summer harvest season, China's two major border gates with Vietnam, Youyi Guan in Pingxiang and Beilun 2 Bridge in Dongxing, have entered their peak period for handling imports of fresh agricultural and seafood products from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Cargo handling operations at Berths 3 and 4 of the Hai Phong International Gateway Port. (Photo: VNA)

AI reshapes logistics, raising bar for workforce skills

According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), the logistics sector will require around 2.2 million workers by 2030, including 1.6 million employees for logistics service providers and nearly 600,000 personnel supporting logistics operations in manufacturing and trading enterprises.

Robust dispute resolution framework key to Vietnam's IFC ambitions

Robust dispute resolution framework key to Vietnam's IFC ambitions

The development strategy for VIFC-HCMC envisions a comprehensive financial ecosystem encompassing green finance, carbon credits, financial technology (fintech), blockchain technology, digital assets, digital banking and other innovative business models. These highly internationalised sectors involve complex cross-border transactions and sophisticated legal structures.