Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan: Building a Solid Legal Corridor for Trade Remedies
Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan emphasized that in 2026, the trend of trade protectionism will continue to rise, requiring proactivity and enhanced efficiency in trade remedy work.
On January 8, the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) organized a conference to summarize work in 2025 and deploy tasks for 2026. The conference was attended by Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan, along with the leadership and staff of TRAV.
Flexible Adaptation to Global Protectionism
In 2025, global trade protectionism continued to rise with the emergence of numerous measures such as tariffs, subsidies, and quotas to protect domestic production against international competitive pressure. Vietnam, in the context of deep integration with many new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), faced dual challenges between protectionism and trade liberalization.
Speaking at the conference, Ms. Tran Do Quyen, Deputy Director of TRAV, stated that overcoming difficulties, the Authority achieved many notable results in 2025, particularly in institution building, administrative reform, law enforcement, and business support.
Institutional & Administrative Reform:
- Presided over the drafting and submission of 1 Decree and 5 Circulars.
- Abolished 1 administrative procedure and implemented 2 Level-4 administrative procedures.
- TRAV Online (Phase 2): The online database system for trade remedy investigations continued to be improved, facilitating businesses in the submission process.
International Recognition:
- Progress in pushing for the recognition of Vietnam as a market economy continued, with the total number of recognizing nations and territories rising to 74.
2025 Operational Highlights: The Numbers
Domestic Trade Remedy Enforcement: In 2025, TRAV processed 9 investigation cases carried over from 2024 (completing 8) and initiated:
- 6 reviews (4 sunset reviews, 2 annual reviews).
- 3 new investigations (2 new product investigations, 1 anti-circumvention investigation).
Impact: To date, Vietnam has applied 48 trade remedy measures, of which 37 are currently active. These measures have:
- Protected domestic enterprise revenue estimated at 600,000 billion VND.
- Secured jobs for over 56,000 direct workers and hundreds of thousands of indirect workers.
- Contributed over 1,500 billion VND to the state budget.
Response to Foreign Investigations: Vietnamese exports faced 21 new trade remedy cases from 11 markets, with the United States accounting for 33%. Cases are becoming increasingly complex with new investigation contents like transnational subsidies. However, with TRAV’s support, over 50% of cases were resolved successfully, helping Vietnamese businesses avoid duties or secure low tax rates.
2026 Directives: Proactive and Flexible
Directing the conference, Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan emphasized that the protectionist trend will intensify in 2026. He requested TRAV to focus on 6 key tasks:
- Legal Framework: Urgently review and coordinate to amend and perfect the Law on Foreign Trade Management in 2026 to create a solid legal corridor.
- Defensive “Shield”: Continue to act as a shield for domestic production. Move beyond “defense” to proactively “attack” against trade remedy circumvention and harmoniously handle exemption issues.
- Communication: Strengthen communication to raise awareness among businesses and society about the role of trade remedies.
- Specialized Inspection: Intensify inspections on compliance with trade remedy laws, anti-circumvention, and exemptions to enhance the effectiveness of applied measures.
- Digitalization: Identify building a complete, unified database and promoting digitalization as a key task. This serves as the foundation for the Early Warning System.
- Human Resources: Focus on training the young workforce to meet the increasingly high requirements of the field.
Mr. Luong Hoang Thai, Director of TRAV, affirmed the determination of all staff to implement the assigned tasks, contributing to protecting the legitimate interests of enterprises, promoting export growth, and ensuring economic security in the context of deep international integration.
