Redirection of Chinese goods to EU may hit Vietnam: Top trade envoy

The EU is closely monitoring several product categories from China, and its officials have indicated that a side effect of the high US tariffs is a surplus of Chinese production, Thuy said.

As countries unable to export to the United States look for alternative markets, the EU will be ready to defend its market, he said quoting EU officials.

There is also a risk of Chinese goods ‘masking their origin’ via Vietnam, and that risk is now more tangible than ever, she noted.

"If it happens, the reputation of 'Made in Vietnam' goods will suffer severe damage. Moreover, the EU may respond by intensifying inspections, tightening preferential conditions or even imposing punitive tariffs on Vietnamese products,” she was quoted as saying by a domestic news outlet.

The EU had faced a similar situation in the steel industry in 2017, when the United States closed its market to Chinese steel, resulting in a surge of such products into the EU. The EU had then applied safeguard measures permitted by the World Trade Organisation.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)