The US Commerce Department announced on Friday that Vietnam will continue to be classified as a non-market economy country, a decision that will disappoint Hanoi, which the US has been wooing in its efforts to push back again China.
Vietnam has long sought an upgrade from its listing alongside just 12 economies labelled by Washington as non-market, including China, Russia, North Korea and Azerbaijan.
Such a move has been opposed by US steelmakers, Gulf coast shrimpers and honey farmers and members of the US Congress representing them, but backed by retailers and some other business groups.
“Today, the US Department of Commerce announced its determination that Vietnam will continue to be classified as a non-market economy country for purposes of calculating US anti-dumping duties on imports from Vietnam,” the department said in a statement.
“This finding means that the methodology used in calculating US anti-dumping duties on imports from Vietnam remains the same,” it said.
Vietnam has long argued it should be freed of the non-market label because of recent economic reforms, and it has said that retaining the moniker is bad for increasingly close two-way ties that Washington sees as a counterbalance to China.
Opponents argued that Hanoi’s policy commitments have not been matched by concrete actions and it operates as a planned economy governed by the ruling Communist Party. They say Vietnam is increasingly being used as a manufacturing hub by Chinese firms to circumvent US curbs on imports from China.
Washington has worked hard to foster closer ties with Vietnam in the face of growing strategic competition with China and the issue of whether to upgrade Vietnam has been awkward given the approaching US election in November and claims by each side that they stand for worker rights.
Vietnam’s Washington embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
