Vietnam investigates plastic dumping by China, Malaysia, Thailand

The investigation was initiated Monday at the request of two plastic producers, Taiwanese firm Hung Nghiep Formossa and South Korean firm Youl Chon Vina, on biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP), a plastic film material used to make tapes.

They claimed that the imports of plastic products from these three countries have inflicted "significant damage" on local manufacturing, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement.

As these firms account for up to 77 percent of the country’s production of related plastic products, they are eligible to represent local manufacturers in requesting an investigation, it said.

The firms have proposed respective tariffs of 20.22 percent, 15.12 percent, and 20.35 percent on BOPP materials from China, Malaysia and Thailand.

This is the fifth anti-dumping investigation Vietnam has initiated this year. It has issued temporary anti-dumping duties on aluminum products originating in China and some wood-based materials originating in Thailand and Malaysia.