After a 2015 which saw steel imports rise 22.56 percent, a figure which included 1.78 million metric tonnes of steel billets, Vietnam’s four major steel producers, Hoa Phat, Southern Steel, Thai Nguyen and Vietnam-Italy Steel, called for increased regulations regarding Chinese steel.

The investigation on steel billets is currently underway and could possibly result in higher punitive taxes on imports. While this might be good news for the four major producers, who in total, produce over 40 percent of steel billets in Vietnam, smaller companies are less pleased.

The majority of steel producers in Vietnam are relatively small and their profit margin leans quite heavily on acquiring cheaper steel imports from China. Companies such as Pomina have already called on the government to drop their investigation.

The investigation is expected to take at least six months.