According to the Vietnam Plywood Association, South Korea has recently re-imposed anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese plywood exported to South Korea. The tariff rate that South Korea plans to impose on Vietnamese plywood exported to this market will increase by more than 4% compared to the previous tariff rate.
The Vietnam Plywood Association said that the final anti-dumping duty rulings of the Korean regulatory authority, with a tariff margin ranging from 4.2 – 13.04%, will pose difficulties for businesses exporting this product.
The Korean regulatory authority has re-investigated anti-dumping duties on plywood products of Vietnamese origin exported to the Korean market in the 2020-2023 period. The Korean regulatory authority conducted inspections of businesses and concluded in November 2023.
The Korean regulatory authority recently issued final anti-dumping duty rulings for businesses that participated in the investigation and businesses that were not included in the review.
Mr. Trinh Xuan Duong – Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Plywood Association, said that the investigation and imposition of duties by South Korea are not objective. Because, of the businesses investigated, only a tiny number account for the total number of Vietnamese businesses exporting this product to the South Korean market. For years, these businesses’ exports to the South Korean market have accounted for no more than 20% of total export turnover. The duty applied to businesses that were not investigated has a considerably wider margin than the duty applied to those that were.
Rongjia Company, one of the six businesses investigated, has closed its doors. According to preliminary information, the tax rate applicable to businesses that, like Rongjia, have closed their plants and did not participate in the investigation (or did not participate in the second investigation) is more than 20%. Therefore, such a tax rate is unreasonable. Mr. Duong asserted that the number of businesses investigated did not accurately depict the total number of businesses or the value of exports to South Korea by Vietnamese businesses.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Dong, Secretary of the Association, South Korea is a promising plywood market. Currently, there are businesses that produce and export very little or nothing to the South Korean market. They have never shipped to South Korea. “Those businesses, of course, are not subject to investigation. In the future, if they want to export to this market but are charged a general tax, it will be a long-term disadvantage and unfairness to those businesses while also limiting the export market for the Vietnamese plywood industry,” said Mr. Dong.
The Vietnam Plywood Association has petitioned the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association and the Trade Defense Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) to submit proposals to the Korean government’s regulatory authority, requesting favorable conditions for the export of Vietnamese plywood to that market.
According to 2023 statistics, roughly 152 businesses will be subject to a tax increase of more than 4%. These businesses will be unable to compete and will be forced to close. Due to the closure of hundreds of factories, workers at these businesses will lose their jobs. As a result, suppliers of raw materials will cease operations. Because there is no demand, no new forests will be planted. The entire supply chain in forestry and forest product processing will be disrupted.
As a result, initiatives linked to green certification and environmental protection will be directly impacted. Furthermore, the Korean businesses that rely on Vietnamese plywood imports and the entire system associated with their operations will face considerable issues.
According to the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association, Vietnam’s plywood and laminated wood products were exported to 81 countries and territories worldwide in 2023.
South Korea, Japan, the United States, and Malaysia were Vietnam’s four main plywood export markets in 2023, accounting for 77.1% of volume and 77.4% of value. In particular, South Korea alone accounted for 29% of volume and 22.7% of value.
