“Granting market economy status to Vietnam was not justified by the facts — given the significant role of state-owned enterprises in the Vietnamese economy, Vietnam’s role in circumventing U.S. trade law orders on goods from China and other countries, its continued currency manipulation, its ongoing export restrictions on steelmaking raw materials, and its other trade-restrictive practices,” said AISI president and chief executive officer Kevin Dempsey. 

“Moreover, given the substantial Chinese direct investment in Vietnam, granting it market economy status would have been a gift to China,” he added. 

U.S. steelmakers had opposed a change in status, along with Gulf Coast shrimpers and honey farmers and members of the U.S. Congress representing them, according to the Reuters news service. But a change was supported by retailers and some other business groups.

“Opponents of an upgrade have countered 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 U.S. curbs on imports from China,” Reuters reported. 

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