Posted on 27 Nov 2008
Vietnamese steel manufacturers have asked the government to more than double import tax on finished steel to 20% from 8% to protect them from cheaper imports, their association said.
The current rate is 8%.
The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) had last week proposed that the government should hike the tariff on steel billet from 2% to 5%.
Chair Pham Chi Cuong said producers in neighbouring countries cut prices and pushed exports to reduce stocks that had piled up due to the global economic slowdown, which has crimped steel demand from manufacturers and builders.
Demand in
A report last week in Phap Luat (Law) newspaper quoted Cuong as saying that steel consumption had shrunk for a second consecutive month in October to less than 120,000 tonnes.
Vietnam had imported around 360,000 tonnes of steel by October, mainly from
In its latest report Monday, GSO said steel imports were up 46.3% this month from a year earlier.
Steel prices rose slightly after the association's first proposal last week even though demand remained unchanged.
Vietnam Steel Corp (VSC) increased prices by 500,000-700,000 dong a tonne to 10.6-10.7 million dong (US$626.7-632.5). Foreign manufacturers have priced their products at 50,000-100,000 dong higher than VSC.
Stocks with manufacturers and distributors rose to 3 million tonnes as of October 27, Dau Tu Chung Khoan newspaper reported earlier this month, citing a study by Ban Viet Securities Inc.
