Winning on trade remedies depends on the initiative of the enterprises

Steel is the most sued item of Vietnam's exports. Picture: Ha Phuong.

The difficulty of enterprises

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s statistics, so far, there have been more than 120 trade remedy cases related to Vietnamese exports by foreign countries (the EU, USA, Brazil and Turkey).

In fact, there have been some cases where Vietnamese enterprises have achieved good results, for example, two cases of dual anti-dumping, anti-subsidy investigation on aluminium and galvanized steel have made the final decision with positive results for Vietnam.

From the practical experience of these two cases, Mr. Nguyen Phuong Nam, deputy director of the Trade Defense Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that although we have successfully prosecuted two recent lawsuits on aluminum and galvanized steel, but besides the Government of Vietnam's efforts to meet the requirements and obligations of defense, enterprises have to take the initiative in defense, otherwise we still lose.

However, the fear and passive of Vietnamese enterprises in trade remedies are still quite common. This fact is also stated by the enterprises, but accompanied by many reasons.

According to Mr. Vu Van Thanh, Deputy General Director of Hoa Sen Group, when cooperating with investigating agencies and complying with related regulations, most domestic enterprises are afraid and do not provide some sensitive information because it likely will affect their enterprises. As a result, those enterprises are not cooperative and receive the highest dumping margin.

Notably, the warning period before the initiation of investigations was relatively short, so enterprises was often passive after the initiation of the investigation, as well as a lack of support from foreign clients.

In addition, it is difficult to find a lawyer to represent for the enterprises, as there are few domestic law firms with experience in dealing with trade remedies, especially those occurring abroad. Conversely, if you hire a foreign lawyer, the cost is very expensive.

Agreed with the above opinion, Ms. Dinh Anh Tuyet, IDVN's lawyer said that the cost is one of many difficulties that businesses must encounter, of the cost of an attorney to the general expenses associated with the combination of forces and supporters.

Meanwhile, the enterprise itself is lack of personnel experienced in trade remedies, as well as knowledge of international law, the ability to analyze and deal with data and foreign language.

Cope with the inevitable trend

It can be seen that trade remedies are likely to increase as countries take advantage of the tools to protect domestic production, as tariff barriers are no longer removed.

Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises need to be ready to deal with trade remedies cases, from the mind to knowledge and human resources. Export enterprises must have a department specializing in trade remedies to meet the requirements of the investigation agency in time and increase the rate of winning,” said Mr. Nam.

As having a specialization department, Ms. Tuyet outlined the steps businesses should take to deal with lawsuits, including: Appointment of qualified staff to collaborate with lawyers when providing deal with problems; the organization and system of documents, books and documents in a clear and uniform manner; ensuring the collation of information provided and document records.

In addition, the business should cooperate with lawyers to ensure the unified strategy of the lawsuit, inform the lawyer as soon as detecting the problem of information or business documents.

Importantly, an enterprise must provide accurate information to the lawyer whether that information is beneficial or unfavourable to the interests of the business in the lawsuit. “Enterprises do not hesitate to disclose business secrets, intentionally or unintentionally provide incomplete or inaccurate information, causing lawyers not to have enough time to deal with the information or fail to answer,” Ms Tuyet said. This will be a further disadvantage of the business.

Ms. Tuyet added, in any market, enterprises should be careful and analyze the applicant's questionnaire, allegations and facts to formulate appropriate strategies before and during the preparation.

Agreed with opinions of experts, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, Deputy General Director of Hoa Sen Group, said that enterprises need to cooperate and provide sufficient and transparent data when being requested; understand the rules and definitions when answering questions; data must be stored for at least 5 years in order to be easily accessible when needed.