Phung Gia Duc, deputy head of the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam’s office for addressing foreign trade defense processing, said that many member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) are investigating trade defense cases involving Vietnamese products. Statistics show that Australia has initiated 18 cases so far, and Canada and Malaysia over 10 cases.

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At a seminar on mitigating trade defense risks when increasing exports to CPTPP markets in Hanoi on November 27

The most vulnerable and likely-to-be-investigated products are those with rapid and strong growth, he went on, adding that the principle to initiate such a lawsuit is an increase in imports.

Vu Van Phu, vice chairperson and general secretary of the Vietnam aluminum association, said that as trade defense measures in the world and in Vietnam are increasing, aluminum enterprises have begun to pay attention and change their perception of related risks.

They need support in connecting supply and demand, expanding markets, and avoiding dependence on a single market when facing trade defense investigations, Phu said.

Duc held that such cases will grow rapidly in the time to come. Therefore, businesses must regularly update changes in foreign laws. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will frequently organize dialogues on the issue with foreign investigation agencies.

The Vietnamese Government will protect Vietnamese enterprises but will also resolutely guard against businesses evading trade defence measures through illegal imports or origin evasion, he affirmed.

Source: VNA