REVIEW OF APPLICATION OF MEASURES AGAINST CIRCUMVENTION OF TRADE REMEDIES ON CERTAIN CANE SUGAR PRODUCTS
(case: AR01. AC02. AD13-AS01)

Article 1. A review of the application of measures against circumvention of trade remedies on certain cane sugar products which bear the following HS codes: 1701.13.00, 1701.14.00, 1701.91.00, 1701.99.10, 1701.99.90, and 1702.90.91, and are imported into Vietnam from the Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, will be initiated. Further details of the review are provided in the Announcement enclosed herewith.

Article 2. Procedures for conducting the review shall be followed in accordance with Vietnam regulations of law on trade remedies.

Article 3. Procedures for initiating and conducting the review shall be followed in a manner that must not obstruct the application of measures against circumvention of trade remedies in force.

Article 4. This Decision comes into force from the date on which it is signed.

Article 5. The Chief of the Ministry Office, The Director of Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam, and relevant parties are responsible for the implementation of this Decision./.

REVIEW OF APPLICATION OF MEASURES AGAINST CIRCUMVENTION OF TRADE REMEDIES ON CERTAIN CANE SUGAR PRODUCTS (case: AR01.AC02.AD13-AS01)
(Enclosed to the Decision No. 2386/QD-BCT dated September 06, 2024 of the Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam)

On August 01, 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam has promulgated the Decision No. 1514/QD-BCT regarding the application of measures against circumvention of trade remedies on certain cane sugar products.

On August 03, 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam has promulgated the Decision No. 1989/QD-BCT regarding outcomes of the first review of imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing measures on cane sugar products imported from the Kingdom of Thailand.

On July 16, 2024, the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam has received an application for review of the measures against circumvention of trade remedies on certain cane sugar products submitted by Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association on behalf of domestic manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as “review application”).

- Scientific name: Sucrose.

- Common name: table sugar, cane sugar, refined sugar, raw sugar, white sugar, granulated sugar, RE sugar, RS sugar, etc.

Currently, the goods on which the measures against circumvention of trade remedies are imposed bear the following HS codes: 1701.13.00; 1701.14.00; 1701.91.00; 1701.99.10; 1701.99.90; and 1702.90.91.

The goods subject to the review of the application of measures against circumvention of trade remedies are those manufactured by PT. Kebun Tebu Mas and imported from the Republic of Indonesia.

Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association has submitted an application requesting the investigating authority to initiate a review of the application of the measures against circumvention of trade remedies imposed on certain cane sugar products manufactured and exported to Vietnam by PT. Kebun Tebu Mas (located in Republic of Indonesia) and to remove PT. Kebun Tebu Mas from the list of companies exempt from measures against circumvention of trade remedies under the Decision No. 1514/QD-BCT dated August 01, 2022 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam because this company shows signs of circumventing the trade remedies imposed on cane sugar products exported from Thailand.

Based on the review application and the evidence provided in support of the review application, and pursuant to the provisions of the 2017 Law on Foreign Trade Management and the Decree No. 10/2018/ND-CP , the investigating authority shall conduct a review to consider whether PT. Kebun Tebu Mas, located in Republic of Indonesia, has engaged in circumvention of the anti-dumping and countervailing measures imposed on cane sugar products originating from Thailand.

The investigating authority shall follow the investigation and review procedures below:

a) Pursuant to provisions of Article 6 of the Circular No. 37/2019/TT-BCT dated November 29, 2019 of the Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam elaborating regulations on trade remedies, the organizations and individuals defined in Article 74 of the Law on Foreign Trade Management may register as interested parties in the review case with the investigating authority in order to receive information to be publicly disclosed during the review process, and give or provide their opinions, comments, information and evidence relating to the matter of the review stated in Section 3 hereof.

b) Any organization or individual that wishes to register as an interested party shall complete the form in Appendix I enclosed with the Circular No. 37/2019/TT-BCT and send it to the investigating authority via the Trav Online System (an online system for receipt of trade remedy cases-related documents) at the address https://online.trav.gov.vn within sixty (60) working days from the effective date of the decision to initiate the review. An application form for registration as an interested party may be also submitted to the investigating authority by post or email.

c) The interested parties as defined in Article 74 of the Law on Foreign Trade Management shall have rights and obligations prescribed in Article 9 of the Government’s Decree No. 10/2018/ND-CP dated January 15, 2018 providing guidelines for the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding trade remedies.

Pursuant to Article 57 of the Decree No. 10/2018/ND-CP:

a) Within 15 days from the issue date of the review decision, the investigating authority shall send the investigation questionnaire sheets to:

- The party subject to review, and

- Other interested parties as deemed necessary by the investigating authority.

b) Within 30 days from their receipt of the investigation questionnaire sheets, the requested parties shall submit their fully answered questionnaires to the investigating authority. This time limit may be extended once by the investigating authority for a period of up to 30 days on the basis of the received application for extension.

c) An investigation questionnaire sheet is considered to have been received after 07 working days from the date on which it is sent by the investigating authority.

a) Pursuant to provisions of clause 3 Article 75 of the Law on Foreign Trade Management, the investigating authority shall, where necessary, be entitled to conduct on-the-spot investigations, including investigations conducted in foreign countries, to verify the truthfulness of the information and documents provided by interested parties or to collect additional information and documents necessary for the resolution of the trade remedy case.

b) On-the-spot investigations shall be conducted following the procedures in Article 12 of the Decree No. 10/2018/ND-CP .

a) The Vietnamese language shall be used as the basis for communications and documents exchanged during the review. Interested parties are entitled to use their mother languages for communications and documents exchanged during the review with the presence of accompanied interpreters/translators.

b) Information and documents in other languages provided by interested parties must be translated into Vietnamese. Interested parties must ensure the truthfulness and accuracy of, and assume legal responsibility for, the contents of such translations.

The investigating authority shall comply with provisions on confidentiality of information set out in clause 2 Article 75 of the Law on Foreign Trade Management and Article 11 of the Decree No. 10/2018/ND-CP.

Pursuant to Article 10 of the Decree No. 10/2018/ND-CP:

a) If an interested party refuses access to, or otherwise does not provide, necessary evidence, or significantly impedes the review, findings in respect of that party can be made on the basis of the facts available.

b) Where an interested party is found to have provided false or misleading evidence, the evidence shall be disregarded and findings in respect of that party can be made on the basis of the facts available.

Interested parties are therefore encouraged to fully cooperate during the review in order to have their rights and legitimate benefits protected.

Pursuant to point c clause 1 Article 82 of the Law on Foreign Trade Management, the review must be completed within a maximum period of 06 months from the issue date of the review decision. Where necessary, the review time limit can be extended once for a period of up to 03 months.

All information should be submitted to:

Anti-dumping and Countervailing Investigation Division

The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam affiliated to the Ministry of Industry and Trade

Address: 23 Ngo Quyen Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi City, Vietnam

Telephone number: +84 73037898 (Ext. 111)

E-mail: lanhtn@moit.gov.vn

The Decision and Announcement of initiation of expiry reviews can be found on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (www.moit.gov.vn) or the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (www.trav.gov.vn; www.pvtm.gov.vn or https://online.trav.gov.vn).