Tag: Imports

Final thoughts

It might be the dog days of summer. But it’s been a newsy week for steel. Let’s start on the trade front, where we had a big decision in a case before the Commerce Department about Vietnam’s market status. Ethan Bernard covered the news. Commerce determined that Vietnam remained a “non-market economy,” or NME, based on factors such as government control over private property, labor conditions, and one-party rule. What’s also notable, and which Wiley trade attorney Alan Price points out in a good column on the matter, is that Commerce’s decision cannot be appealed.

Price on trade: Commerce got it right in Vietnam NME case

The US Commerce Department on Friday released its determination confirming that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam continues to function as a non-market economy (NME). The department’s decision represents a significant victory for domestic manufacturing. It is also critical to leveling the playing field for US industries and will support greater opportunities for growth and fair trade in the United States. The government of Vietnam had requested that Commerce reconsider its NME designation. It argued that Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo had pledged to support the changing of its status to a market economy.