Vietnam probes Chinese prestressed steel bar for dumping

Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Decision 1903/QD-BCT on July 28, opening an anti-dumping investigation into prestressed steel bar imported from China, case code AD24. The petition from two domestic producers alleges a dumping margin as high as 23.06%. The case has just been initiated; there is no finding or duty yet, only a formal probe.

The investigated product is prestressed steel bar made of manganese-silicon alloy steel, in bar, rod or coil form, 7.1 to 12.6mm in diameter, with a smooth or ribbed surface, uncoated and unplated, classified under HS codes 7227.20.00, 7228.20.11, 7228.20.19 and 7229.20.00. The petition was filed by Hoa Phat Prestressed Steel Co., Ltd. and Vietnam-Japan Prestressed Steel Joint Stock Company, two domestic producers in the same segment.

Shippers should keep this case distinct from another one: prestressed steel wire strand from Malaysia, Thailand and China, a separate, ongoing anti-dumping review (case AR01.AD17) whose deadline was just pushed to October 21. The two products sound alike but sit under different case codes and different HS codes, so don't merge them when you look this up.

The ministry set the dumping investigation period from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, and a longer injury period from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2026. The 23.06% figure is the margin the petitioners calculated and submitted in their own filing; the investigating authority will test it against questionnaire responses from Chinese producers, exporters and other interested parties before issuing a preliminary finding. Several procedural steps separate this initiation from a final determination, and a provisional duty could land at some point in between.

Prestressed steel bar feeds into bridge girders, post-tensioned concrete slabs and spun concrete piles, an input deep in the construction and infrastructure supply chain rather than a finished consumer good. Companies currently importing it from China, especially contractors and precast concrete makers running on imported feedstock, sit closest to any eventual duty. Vietnam already has a track record here: Chinese hot-rolled steel has carried an official 23.1-27.83% anti-dumping duty since a July 2025 decision, and certain wide hot-rolled steel products, 1,880-2,300mm wide, picked up an added provisional anti-circumvention duty under Decision 612/QD-BCT on April 2, 2026. Steel imports from China broadly are under tighter scrutiny this year, not just this one product.

The deadline to register as an interested party in case AD24 is October 16.

The case is still at an early stage, but the window to be heard closes fast for anyone who waits until a preliminary finding lands:

• Register as an interested party before October 16 if you import, distribute or use Chinese prestressed steel bar, to receive the questionnaire and submit input to the case file.
• Check HS codes 7227.20.00, 7228.20.11, 7228.20.19 and 7229.20.00 against your current declarations, and do not confuse them with the codes for prestressed steel wire strand, a separate case under separate review.
• Review open contracts with Chinese suppliers and price in the possibility of a provisional duty landing mid-investigation.
• For longer-term orders, start scouting supply outside China in case the final determination results in an official duty.

Homexim handles customs brokerage for construction materials and metal imports, checking HS codes against active trade-defense cases before filing a declaration. If you are importing Chinese prestressed steel bar and need your shipment checked against case AD24, send us your HS codes and contract details. See our brief on US trade-defense risk facing Vietnamese exports for the export side of this year's trade-defense picture.