Vietnam may face woodwork anti-dumping lawsuit: official

Vietnam cannot rule out the possibility of encountering an anti-dumping lawsuit against wood products exported to the United States, a local association official said Thursday.

Regarding the US market, Vietnamese woodwork export turnovers as well as its export growth rates are on the sharp increase, which may be one of reasons for the United States to place anti- dumping tariffs on the products, said the unnamed official from the Wood Processing and Handicraft Association in southern Ho Chi Minh City.

A number of woodwork producers in the United States, China and some European countries have recently shifted their production to Vietnam to cut production costs and enjoy lower tariffs, which is pushing up export turnovers of Vietnamese wood products, the official stated.

Vietnamese indoor woodwork is estimated to hold a market share of 6 percent in the United States. The figures for 2003 and the first half of 2004 were 2.2 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. Now, Vietnam is the second biggest woodwork exporter to the United States, after China, the official noted.

According to the official, to deal with the potential anti- dumping case, Vietnamese woodwork producers should import more materials from countries having market economy, especially the United States, while relevant local agencies and enterprises should make preparedness plans and get to know about markets and laws of the foreign country more actively.

Vietnam made woodwork export turnovers of more than 1.2 billion dollars in the first 10 months of this year, up 43.1 percent, according to the country's General Statistics Office.

Vietnam, which earned over 1 billion US dollars from supplying its woodwork to the world market in 2004, surging 85.9 percent over 2003, plans to ship abroad 1.4 billion dollars worth of the product in 2005.

Local wood products, including tables, chairs, beds and wardrobes, are exported mainly to the European Union, the United States, Japan and Chinese Taiwan.

Source: Xinhua