DOC Uses Production Cost in India as Comparison to Impose High Anti-Dumping Duty on Vietnamese Honey Exported to US

Vietnamese honey exported to the United States is facing a high anti-dumping duty, affecting Vietnamese beekeepers and the raw honey-related food processing industry in some states of the United States.

HANOI, VIETNAM - Media OutReach - 4 April 2022 - On November 17, 2021, the DOC announced a preliminary conclusion that Vietnamese honey was being dumped into the United States with a margin of between 410.93 and 413.99 per cent (Buon Me Thuot Honey JSC - 413.99 per cent, Dak Lak Honey JSC - 410.93 per cent) and imposed a respective temporary tax while the dumping margin of the remaining four countries, Argentina, Brazil, India, and Ukraine, was from 6.24 to 49.44 per cent.

On January 3, 2022, the DOC announced that it would impose a retrospective tax on honey shipments imported from Viet Nam from August 25, 2021. It is expected that the conclusion will be finalised by the DOC in April 2022.

Since the US has not recognized Viet Nam as a market economy, the DOC uses the costs in India as a basis for comparison with Viet Nam's export prices instead of the data provided by Vietnamese enterprises.

The DOC used the weighted average price of inputs imported into India including finished honey from New Zealand, Australia (three times higher than the purchase price of raw honey in Viet Nam), and honey barrels (eight times higher than the actual purchase price in Viet Nam). This does not reflect accurately the reality of honey production in Viet Nam and is the main reason for the high dumping margin of Vietnamese enterprises.

The preliminary conclusion has negatively impacted exporters and the lives of 35,000 Vietnamese beekeepers, mainly in poor economic areas facing difficulties during the pandemic, affecting the ecological balance and crop productivity in the locality.

On the other hand, the US honey producers only meet 25 per cent of domestic demand and cannot supply the US market with the amount of raw honey required for food processing.

Therefore, the application of anti-dumping duties that are too high for Vietnamese honey and will cause damage to the food processing industry and directly affect the interests of US honey consumers.

In the context of supply chains affected by the pandemic and increased gasoline prices, stable honey supply from Viet Nam would contribute to stabilising food prices using raw honey for consumers and ensure the employment of laborers in the food processing industry in some US states such as Indiana, benefiting bilateral trade for the two countries.