Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has proposed a policy to remove a 15 percent tax on the export of stainless steel scrap from Vietnam, according to published reports. The elimination of the tax would ease the financial burden on domestic stainless steel manufacturers.

An article in the Asia News Network (ANN) reports that Vietnam’s MoIT recently proposed that the government consider offering a zero tax rate for Posco VST Co., one of the country's largest stainless steel manufacturers, which would allow the company to keep the cost of exporting the stainless steel scrap a viable option.

There are currently no stainless steel furnaces in Vietnam; stainless steel scrap is exported to other countries to be refined, according to the MoIT. This reprocessed steel is imported back into Vietnam for use in domestic manufacturing.

The ANN article notes that one steel manufacturer said the 15 percent tax rate increased production costs to make the domestic steel industry less competitive to steel produced in China.

According to the MoIT, the export of stainless steel scrap did not impact the country's natural resources and minerals because the scrap originated from imported raw stainless steel products in the first place.