The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced the delay of the deadline for announcing a final conclusion in the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duty evasion investigation on hardwood plywood from Vietnam. Specifically, the expected deadline for issuing the DOC’s final conclusion on April 20, 2022, will be extended to October 17, 2022. This is the third extension of the DOC in the case of the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duty evasion investigation on hardwood plywood from Vietnam.
The investigation of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duty evasion with respect to hardwood plywood from Vietnam was initiated by the DOC on June 17, 2020, based on the request of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The investigation was conducted with 2 main contents including:
Scope inquiry
To determine whether the product range of hardwood plywood imported from Vietnam into the United States is within the scope of products subject to duty or not, five key factors will be considered by the US Department of Commerce, consists of:
(i) the level of investment of manufacturing and exporting businesses;
(ii) the level of investment in product research and development;
(iii) the manufacturing process in Vietnam;
(iv) the size of production facilities in Vietnam;
(v) the value-added portion of the product made in Vietnam.
Anticircumvention investigation
Currently, the United States is applying trade remedies against Chinese hardwood plywood.
If Vietnam’s plywood manufacturing and exporting businesses can prove that they do not practice methods of evading trade remedies that the United States is applying to China, they will not be subject to anti-circumvention duties.
Extension of time to issue the final conclusion on the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duty evasion investigation on hardwood plywood from Vietnam
In order to help businesses producing and exporting Vietnamese hardwood plywood, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and related ministries and branches have worked diligently in recent years with the US Department of Commerce so that the US side can fully understand the situation of Vietnam’s wood processing and manufacturing industry and issue the most favorable conclusions possible for Vietnamese businesses.
Throughout this process, Vietnamese businesses also enthusiastically cooperated and answered in full the DOC’s questionnaires to prove that their production and export activities were not aimed at evading the US trade remedy duties.

Accordingly, in order for the case to end in favor of Vietnamese hardwood plywood manufacturers and exporters in particular and the entire Vietnamese manufacturing and exporting industry in general, stakeholders need to continue to closely monitor the developments of the case, regularly update information from the DOC, the Trade Remedies Department and import partners in the United States.
At the same time, Vietnamese businesses also need to continue to maintain the spirit of cooperation in good faith with the DOC throughout the investigation process and contact the Trade Remedies Department to receive timely support.
During this process, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will also continue to closely monitor the case, and coordinate with stakeholders to work with US agencies to ensure the case is investigated objectively and fairly with Vietnamese businesses.
The notice extending the deadline for issuing the DOC’s final conclusion can be downloaded here.
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