MoIT's comment on US's delay to recognize Vietnam as a market economy

On August 2, 2024, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that the US Department of Commerce (DOC) issued a conclusion saying that although it has acknowledged the positive developments of Vietnam's economy, the US has not yet recognized Vietnam as a market economy.

This means that Vietnamese exporters to the US will continue to face discrimination in US anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations. The actual production costs of Vietnamese companies will continue to be disregarded, and a “surrogate value” from a third country will be used to calculate anti-dumping margins.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will support Vietnamese enterprises in exporting to the U.S. market.

If the DOC reviewed the records and practices in Vietnam objectively and fairly, it would have acknowledged that Vietnam has already become a market economy, as recognized by 72 other economies, including major ones like the UK, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea (RoK), and New Zealand, among others.

Over the past 20 years, Vietnam's economy has undergone significant changes and development. Vietnam has successfully signed and implemented 17 free trade agreements (FTAs), including high-standard, new-generation agreements with the EU, CPTPP countries, and the UK. These agreements encompass broad commitments, from tariff reductions to labor standards, environmental protection, sustainable development, government procurement, and transparency.

These changes have been detailed in over 20,000 pages of information and documents that the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade sent to the DOC, demonstrating Vietnam's strong progress on all six criteria the DOC uses to evaluate market economy status. The arguments provided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade also show that Vietnam’s implementation of these criteria is at least equal to and often better than that of recognized market economies, and is comparable to or better than countries already considered as market economies. Therefore, based on the specific criteria of the US law, recognizing Vietnam as a market economy is an objective and fair reality.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade thanks the 41 organizations, individuals, and US business associations that have strongly supported recognizing Vietnam as a market economy, including organizations and individuals representing US businesses, such as the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), and the National Retail Federation. The Ministry hopes to continue receiving support from these organizations and individuals.

In the coming time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will study and analyze the arguments in the DOC’s assessment report on Vietnam’s economy to supplement and refine arguments for resubmitting a request for the DOC to reconsider Vietnam’s market economy status. This aims to concretize the Vietnam-US comprehensive strategic partnership, thereby promoting bilateral economic, trade cooperation and investment, and bringing practical benefits to the businesses and people of both countries.

Additionally, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will support Vietnamese businesses exporting to the US in anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations to ensure the highest benefits for the Vietnamese business community.