VINACHEM

The Department of Trade Remedies (DTR) - Ministry of Industry and Trade received information that the Directorate General of Imports, Ministry of Trade of Türkiye (DGI) has issued a notice to apply safeguard measures on Ethyl Acetate chemical products (also known as ethyl acetate) imported into Türkiye.

Vietnam is not excluded as it is on the list of countries with significant imports into Türkiye. The specific information is as follows:

- Product under investigation: Ethyl Acetate chemical under HS code 2915.31.00.00.00.

- Investigation initiation date: April 8, 2024

- Investigation period: from 2021 - 2023

- Final conclusion: in the Investigation Conclusion Notice, DGI stated that import volumes increased both in absolute and relative terms during the investigation period. Import volumes increased by 27% in 2022 and by 6% in 2023 compared to the same period last year. In addition, import volumes in 2023 increased by 35% compared to 2021.

The overall picture shows that the domestic industry has suffered serious injury during the investigation period. Indicators such as output, domestic sales, capacity utilization rate and profits have all declined significantly between 2021 and 2023.

- Unforeseen developments: DGI believes that the following factors have led to the sudden increase in imports into Türkiye: (i) The increase in capacity especially in China, the UK, Mexico and Saudi Arabia since 2021 has led to a shift in exports to Turkey, especially from countries that are geographically close; (ii) China's regulation to increase the 10% duty rebate on ethyl acetate exports to 13% has increased the competitiveness of products originating from China in the export market; (iii) The additional tariffs imposed by the United States on ethyl acetate from China since 2018 under Section 301 have diverted Chinese ethyl acetate exports to countries with lower tariffs. (Türkiye's current import duty is 5.5%).

- Safeguard tax rate and application period:

Method of application        Tariff quota            Tax rate (USD/ton)                Stage

                                                                                                                    The first

                                                                               10,000 tons                      110                               

                                                                                                                (June 22, 2025 – June 21, 2026)

                                                                                                                      Monday

      By quota                    10,000 tons                        104                        (June 22, 2026 – June 21, 2027)

                                                                                                                         Tuesday

                                        10,000 tons                         99                          (June 22, 2027 – June 21, 2028)

The above tax rate will take effect from June 22, 2025. Vietnam is not on the list of countries excluded from this measure because it does not satisfy the criteria of having less than 3% of imports into Türkiye. – Source: moi.gov.vn