S. Korea to slap anti-dumping tariffs on Vietnamese plywood

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's trade commission said Thursday it has made a preliminary decision to place anti-dumping tariffs on plywood products from Vietnam as they have seriously damaged the domestic industry.

The Korea Trade Commission said it plans to request the country's finance ministry impose tariffs of around 9.18 percent to 10.65 percent on plywood goods from the Southeast Asian country.

The finance ministry will decide whether to implement anti-dumping tariffs within a month.

The investigation came as the Korea Wood Panel Association, a union of South Korean plywood producers, filed a petition last year, insisting that Vietnamese products imported at excessively low prices have hurt their earnings and market shares.

"We have concluded that there are sufficient shreds of evidence that Vietnamese plywood products were dumped in the country, having adverse impacts on the local industry," the commission said in a statement.

Plywood is used to produce construction materials and furniture.

The South Korean market for the plywood products was estimated at around 900 billion won (US$733 million) in 2018, with Vietnam accounting for at least 40 percent of the market, according to the commission.

colin@yna.co.kr
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