Exporters avoid Chinese tax duties

Suppliers of rolled metal from China insist that buyers are contractually obligated to pay the full tax, which is collected before the shipment is shipped. But importers in ASEAN are resisting purchase contracts that include this clause.

On June 24, a small batch of 3,000 tonnes of Chinese SS400 high strength steel was ordered at $ 860 per ton in Vietnam. The Vietnamese trader heard that the plant would place the HRC for export in a bonded warehouse before the export duty is levied. At the beginning of last week, A36 hot-rolled sheet with a thickness of 3–12 mm was ordered from the same Chinese mill at $ 887 per ton in Vietnam. Re-rolling SAE 1006 HRC from the mill is currently being offered at $ 880 per tonne in Vietnam, Vietnamese trade sources said Friday.

A regional trader says he had a similar bonded warehouse for HRC's bookings from another Chinese plant in the Philippines earlier this month. He reports that the customer paid a few dollars for the customs warehouse to avoid paying the export duty.

Current bids for SS400 HRC from another Chinese mill are estimated at $ 860-870 per tonne in the Philippines. A small batch of 3-12mm SS400 HRC from this plant was recently ordered at $ 865 per tonne in Vietnam, according to a Chinese trader. While the buyer is not required to pay the export tax, he is rumored to say that there will be negotiations to impose an export tax prior to shipment. Most of the orders for HRC in Vietnam were between 1,000 and 2,000 tons each. “The demand is very low,” he says. He attributes this to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak in the country.

Chinese trade sources say weak demand for HRC has forced some Chinese businesses to cut export prices, especially for the SS400 HRC. However, large state-owned Chinese steel mills continue to offer higher prices. These bids for the SAE 1006 HRC 2-2.5mm run at a minimum of $ 920-930 per tonne in Vietnam, and for the 3mm and above SS400 HRC they are around $ 930 per tonne in the Philippines. The lowest offer price of 2mm Indian SAE 1006 HRC material in Vietnam is currently $ 980 /t cfr, up from $ 1,000 /t a week ago.