New Guidance on Trade Remedies Enforcement in Vietnam

(Decree 86/2025/ND-CP)

On April 11, 2025, the Government issued Decree 86/2025/ND-CP detailing some articles of the Law on Foreign Trade Management on trade remedies. This Decree provides guidance on issues within the scope of application of trade remedies, such as: determining damage to domestic manufacturing industries; preventing evasion of trade remedies; investigating trade remedies cases; applying and reviewing trade remedies; coordinating responsibilities of relevant agencies; handling trade remedies. In the article below, Viet An Law will provide customers with general legal advice on Decree 86/2025/ND-CP – new guidance on trade remedies enforcement in Vietnam.

Overview of Decree 86/2025/ND-CP

Scope of regulation

Decree 86/2025/ND-CP details some articles of the Law on Foreign Trade Management 2017 on how to determine damage to domestic manufacturing industries; preventing evasion of trade remedies; grounds for conducting, order, procedures, time limits, contents, grounds for terminating trade remedies case investigations; applying and reviewing trade remedies; determining subsidies and countervailing measures; responsibility for coordination of relevant agencies during the investigation process; handling trade remedies applied to Vietnamese export goods.

Applicable entities

• State management agencies have the authority to investigate, apply and handle trade remedies.
• Vietnamese traders, foreign traders, other domestic and foreign agencies, organizations and individuals related to investigation, application and handling of trade defense measures.

Some main contents of Decree 86/2025/ND-CP providing new guidance on trade remedies enforcement in Vietnam

Guidance on determining domestic production industry

• Pursuant to the Law on Foreign Trade Management 2017: a group of producers of similar goods in Vietnam or representing a major proportion of total output;
• Exclusions: manufacturers directly importing the investigated goods or having a relationship with the exporter/importer of the investigated goods;
• Additional: a producer in a given geographical market may be considered a domestic industry if it meets the following conditions;
• Regulations on the main proportion of total goods output for anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and self-defense cases;
• Exception: The investigating authority may consider a lower rate if there are sufficient grounds to consider it as the main rate.

Regarding the determination of the relationship between the manufacturer of similar goods and the organization or individual exporting or importing goods under investigation for the application of trade remedies

Decree 86/2025/ND-CP has provided criteria for determining whether two parties have a relationship in the following cases:

• One party directly or indirectly controls the other party;
• Both parties are directly or indirectly controlled by a third party;
• Both parties directly or indirectly control the third party. Also stipulates the circumstances in which one party can be determined to control the other party.

Principles for handling trade remedies

Regarding the handling of trade remedies applied to Vietnam’s export goods, Decree 86/2025/ND-CP stipulates the handling principles as follows:

• Vietnamese traders whose goods undergo investigation conducted by importing countries/territories for application of trade remedies as specified in Article 76 of the Law on Foreign Trade Management shall be assisted on the basis of written requests made by Vietnamese traders and relevant trade associations.
• Lawsuits against importing countries/territories specified in Article 108 of this Decree shall be filed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the basis of the collected information and after cooperation and exchange with ministries, ministerial authorities and other competent regulatory bodies, shall be reported to the Prime Minister that will approve a lawsuit plan.
• The Ministry of Finance shall allocate budget for assistance for traders in accordance with Article 76 of the Law on Foreign Trade Management.
• The assistance for Vietnamese traders specified in this Article shall comply with Vietnamese law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.

Building an early warning system for trade remedies lawsuits

The Decree clearly states that the Ministry of Industry and Trade will build and operate an early warning system to inform businesses and industry and trade associations of the possibility of foreign trade defense lawsuits against Vietnamese export goods, enabling them to prevent, avoid, and prepare to respond to such lawsuits.

The Decree stipulates that based on collected information or upon written request of Vietnamese traders, associations, and organizations representing relevant enterprises, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall preside over and coordinate with ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and other competent state management agencies to consider and develop a plan to sue importing countries and territories when detecting violations of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member, and prepare a dossier to submit to the Prime Minister. After the Prime Minister considers and decides to approve the plan to sue based on the dossier submitted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall be responsible for presiding over and conducting lawsuits against importing countries and territories investigating the application of trade defense measures according to the processes and procedures prescribed in relevant international treaties. Vietnamese traders, associations, and organizations representing relevant enterprises shall be responsible for coordinating.

Parties to WTO dispute settlement cases involving trade remedies

• The Decree stipulates that the Ministry of Industry and Trade considers registration as a related party when foreign countries investigate and apply trade remedies to Vietnamese export goods.
• The Ministry of Industry and Trade considers registering to participate as a third party in dispute settlement cases at the World Trade Organization in cases related to Vietnam’s rights and interests in the field of trade remedies. If necessary, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will consult with relevant ministries and branches to consider registering to participate.
• The Ministry of Industry and Trade may consider providing information and documents during the participation of a third party based on the written request of the organization or individual, provided that such documents and information are permitted to be published under the provisions of international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.

Investigate and review the application of trade remedies

Decree 86/2025/ND-CP guides related contents such as using available information, publicizing information in trade defense investigation cases, Decision not to apply investigation, on-site investigation measures, consultation measures, investigation conclusion, notification of draft final investigation conclusion; notification of information on investigation conclusion, review conclusion; obligation to provide information of state management agencies, associations, and business representative organizations; dossier requesting investigation into application of trade remedies, measures against evasion of trade remedies; dossier requesting review of application of trade remedies, measures against evasion of trade remedies, investigation process and procedures.

Investigation, application and review of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures

On anti-dumping and anti-subsidy methods

Decree 86/2025/ND-CP provides guidance on determining the export price of investigated goods, the normal price and the dumping margin. In addition, the Decree stipulates the application of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures (including provisional duties, official measures, and exclusion commitments) and the process for reviewing the application of these measures.

On determining damage to domestic manufacturing industry

This Decree provides for the determination of significant damage, threat of damage and prevention of the formation of domestic production, together with the principle of cumulative consideration and determination of the causal relationship between dumped goods and damage to domestic production.

Investigation, application and review of safeguard measures

Decree 86/2025/ND-CP provides guidance on the dossier of request for investigation to apply safeguard measures, appraisal of request dossiers, necessary procedures for investigation to apply safeguard measures, specifically the following contents:

• Decision on investigation for application of safeguard measure;
• Period of investigation for determination of injury to domestic industry in case of investigation for application of safeguard measure;
• Questionnaire about investigation for application of safeguard measure;
• Determination of serious injury and threat to cause serious injury to the domestic industry in case of investigation for application of safeguard measure;
• Determination of causal relationship between sudden increase in imports into Vietnam and injury to domestic industry in case of investigation for application of safeguard measure.

Applying self-defense measures

Decree 86/2025/ND-CP specifically stipulates a number of methods of applying safeguard measures such as applying temporary safeguard measures, applying or not applying official safeguard measures; applying safeguard measures in the form of import quotas and tariff quotas.

Review of the application of safeguard measures

The review as prescribed in Decree 86/2025/ND-CP is carried out based on the contents of mid-term review/final review/review of scope of applicable goods and according to the procedures for submitting documents, reviewing and appraising, issuing a review decision, sending the Review investigation questionnaire, and issuing a Decision on the review results.

Above is an analysis of new guidance on trade remedies enforcement in Vietnam in Decree 86/2025/ND-CP. If you have any related questions or need advice on legal regulations, please contact Viet An Law for the best support!