Import value for steel and iron products in January rose by up to 30 percent against the same period last year. (Photo: vatlieuxaydung.org.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – The importvalue for steel and iron products continuously surged sharply in the firstmonth of 2017 to 710 million USD, the General Statistics Office reported.
The value rose by up to 30 percent against the same period last year.
Last year, the figure was also high at 8 billion USD, up 7.3 percent againstthe previous year. The imports were mainly from China (accounting for 55.1 percent),the Republic of Korea (12.8 percent) and Taiwan (8.9 percent).
As a large steel import volume from China has caused major damage to domesticsteel production, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has decided to apply tradedefence measures to ensure fair competition with local products and promote thecountry’s steel sector.
For this purpose, certain kinds of steel ingots and long steel imported into Vietnamfrom various countries and territories have been subject to temporary safeguardduties of 23.3 percent and 14.2 percent respectively.
The steel industry is likely to enjoy 10-12 percent growth next year, said theVietnam Steel Association.-VNA
VNA
