HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) last week issued Decision No 3044/QĐ-BCT to apply safeguard measures on some DAP and MAP fertiliser products imported into Việt Nam.

The fertiliser products under the measures have the codes: 3105.10 .20, 3105.10.90, 3105.20.00 and 3105.30.00, as well as 3105.40.00, 3105.51.00, 3105.59.00 and 3105.90.00.

On May 12, MoIT issued Decision No 1682A/QĐ-BCT on initiating a fertiliser dumping investigation and considering the application of safeguard measures on some imported fertiliser products into Việt Nam.

The decision was issued after the ministry’s Việt Nam Competition Authority received a request from Company Limited DAP - Vinachem and DAP No 2 -Vinachem Joint Stock Company to apply global safeguard measures on the products, alleging that the increase of imported goods has damaged the domestic industry.

The goods being investigated are all types of inorganic or complex inorganic fertilisers mixed with nitrogen and phosphorus, in which nitrogen content is at least 7 per cent and phosphorus content is at least 30 per cent.

According to this decision, the applied temporary safeguard tax is VNĐ1,855,790 (US$82) per tonne and is effective from August 19, 2017.

The temporary measures will be applied for a period not exceeding 200 days from the date of coming into effect.

This measure will end on March 6, 2018, or when MoIT brings out a decision to impose an official measure.

Last year, Việt Nam spent $1.1 billion to import 4.15 million tonnes of fertiliser, the General Department of Việt Nam Customs reported.

MoIT estimated that fertiliser import spending in 2017 is similar to 2016 at $1.1 billion and the main import market is China. — VNS