Displaying items by tag: Ministry of Finance

Taiwan: The Ministry of Finance has issued preliminary findings in its anti-dumping investigation into Vietnamese cement and clinker, confirming that Vietnamese firms engaged in dumping. Six out of 21 investigated producers had dumping margins of 16 - 20%, while others faced a margin as high as 24%. Long Son Cement recorded the lowest margin at below 17%, the only producer below the level initially alleged by the Taiwan Cement Manufacturers Association.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs has not imposed provisional duties due to lack of evidence of ongoing damage to domestic producers. The investigation began in August 2024 and will now continue its final phase.

Vietnam: The Vietnam Cement Association (VNCA) has requested the exemption of clinker from the current 10% export tax, arguing it does not qualify under the Value-Added Tax Law as a natural resource or unprocessed mineral. According to Viet Nam News, VNCA has formally appealed to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Construction to review the tax, asserting that clinker, produced at temperatures around 1450 - 1500°C, should not be taxed as a mineral resource. The industry exported over 31.3Mt of clinker and cement in 2023, equivalent to US$1.32bn, representing a year-on-year decline of 1.2% in volume and 4.1% in value compared to 2022, marking the second consecutive year of export decline. The total production capacity of Vietnam's 61 cement plants is about 117Mt/yr, with domestic consumption reaching only 56.6Mt.

China/US: The Chinese Ministry of Finance has increased tariffs on selected US goods, including cement, to 25% with effect from 1 June 2019. It said it took the action in response to escalating US tariffs in May 2019. The new Chinese tariffs range from 10% to 25% and include clinker, white cement, other Portland cements, other hydraulic cement, refractory cement, additives for cement, plaster and concrete, limestone, quicklime, slaked lime, gypsum, refractory products and cement packaging machinery.

Vietnam: Associate Professor Dinh Trong Thinh, of the Academy of Finance – part of the Ministry of Finance, has conceded that exported cement from the country has a low price due to the poorer quality of some of its product. In an interview with the ministry’s press service, Vietnam Economic News, he said that some smaller and medium-sized cement producers use old technology such as shaft kilns, according to Việt Nam News newspaper. He added that local producers were forced to export cement at lower prices than it is sold domestically to reduce inventory. He noted that this was not sustainable in the long run due to production costs and overseas competition.