Tiếng Việt
中文 (中国)
The United States is in the process of reviewing the market economy status of several countries, including Vietnam.
On February 5, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) officially initiated a review of changed circumstances to consider the market economy issue of Armenia.
It is known that this is one of the necessary steps to assess the economic situation of Armenia, serving the anti-dumping investigation against silver paper products imported from this country.
According to U.S. law, a country is considered a market economy if it meets 6 criteria specified in Section 771(18)(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, including:
• Currency conversion;
• Wage and labor negotiations between workers and employers;
• Foreign investment in economic activities;
• State ownership, private ownership;
• Government control over certain resources and prices;
• Other factors.
One of the major benefits of being recognized as a market economy is that when countries recognize Vietnam as a market economy, they proceed to conduct trade remedy investigations against products originating from Vietnam, the anti-dumping margin calculation mechanism will have certain advantages.
Some major economies recognizing Vietnam as a market economy include Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and most recently, the United Kingdom.
When identified as a non-market economy, the usual principles for calculating the value of goods will not be used in trade remedy investigations. The investigating country may use a third country with similar export products and economic conditions to calculate the normal value of goods instead of using data provided by the investigated enterprises. This method often disadvantages manufacturers and exporters from non-market economies.
The United States is considering recognizing the market economy status of several countries
In the case of reviewing Armenia as a market economy, Armenia submitted an application to the DOC on December 21, 2023. After a 45-day deadline, the DOC issued a decision to formally review the recognition of this country as a market economy.
This is the second time Armenia has submitted a request to the DOC to review the market economy issue for this country. Previously, on March 21, 2023, Armenia’s Minister of Economy sent a letter to the DOC Minister requesting a review of the market economy issue, however, it did not mention orders imposing anti-dumping or countervailing duties on a specific product.
Because this was merely a request unrelated to a specific investigation, the DOC did not issue a formal approval or rejection notice.
According to DOC regulations, Armenia continued to send a request for review on December 21, 2023, within the framework of the anti-dumping investigation of silver paper products with case number A-831-804.
The DOC’s official announcement of the initiation of the above case was posted on the Federal Register website on February 13, 2024. From the date of publication, stakeholders will have 30 days to submit comments and an additional 14 days to rebut.
It is expected that the DOC will issue a final determination within 270 days from the initiation date. Therefore, if the review process progresses smoothly, Armenia will receive an official response from the United States in 2024.
Currently, there are 12 countries that have been or are being considered by the DOC as non-market economies in trade remedy investigations against exported goods to the United States, including: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam (Since 2002, the United States has recognized Vietnam as a non-market economy).
Vietnam being recognized as a market economy by important trading partners like the United States is particularly important in trade remedy investigations.
When recognized, Vietnamese enterprises will receive significant support in trade remedy investigations such as anti-subsidy investigations, anti-dumping investigations, and anti-circumvention measures.
To be officially approved for the U.S. market economy recognition process, Vietnam should carefully study and learn from the process of Armenia’s application for market economy status recognition and apply accordingly.
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