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| What is this aluminum for? |
As mentioned by Wall Street Journal, 500,000 metric tons of aluminum was supposed to be shipped from Mexico; however, this stockpile has been recognized to be in a bonded warehouse for no reasons.
In the report released in earlier December, the Wall Street Journal said the huge stockpile of aluminum extrusion had been trucked out of the Mexican city of San José Iturbide to “a factory and waterfront complex” in the southern coastal Vietnamese city of Vung Tau.
In fact, Mexico rarely uses the route through Vietnam for aluminum in recent years, the U.S. journal argued that this abnormal route like this may have something to be hidden, especially about the origin of the aluminum stock.
According to this journal, aluminum exports of Chinese enterprises to the U.S. market are imposed with anti-dumping tariffs up to 374 percent, in comparison with those of 5 percent on Vietnamese aluminum products. Now, some people will get suspicious of this “unexpected” stock, which could be known the reason why it is here.
The most possible reason is that someone got metal first to Mexico and then moved on to Vietnam in order to ‘wash away’ its origin. For this reason, this should have been done to help exporters avoid anti-dumping tariffs imposed by the U.S regulation.
Tuoi Tre Journal has found the bonded warehouse in Vung Tau in which the aluminum has been stored. This customs warehouse is owned by the Thanh Chi Joint Stock Company, located in the Phu My 1 Industrial Park, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province.
An officer of Thanh Chi Company admitted that the goods were sent to the warehouse more than one month ago, but refused to disclose the exact amount, just saying that “there are a few thousand of containers unloaded.”
For domestic use or for re-export?
According to the Ba Ria-Vung Tau customs department, Global Vietnam Aluminum Corporation is developing a shaped aluminum factory with an expected capacity of 200,000 metric tons per year in Ba Ria – Vung Tau province. The project of more than US$250 million is a joint venture between Cheung and Wang Tong, both Chinese-Australian businessmen. The project has obtained a license with a term of 37 years from 2011, with construction being sped up.
It is unclear if the large stockpile of aluminum will be used as raw materials for the upcoming factory or re-exported elsewhere.
Mr. Danh - the province’s customs department head, said no customs inspection was held to clear the reason why a huge stockpile was here because the importer has not carried out the import procedure for use or for re-export yet. In fact, this answer is possibly accepted due to the function of bonded warehouse, which suspends tariff duty and serves the importers’ purpose. Moreover, Mr. Danh also said the aluminum volume is more likely to be stored for partial import and used as raw materials for the new factory, because Global Vietnam Aluminum Corporation has not had any export shipment so far.
Whereas, an official in charge of certificates of origin with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the aluminum may only be temporarily stored in Vietnam just to facilitate hiding-plot certificate and to wait for new movement. If it is true, shipper will enjoy tax incentives or avoid anti-dumping tariffs when exporting to elsewhere.
Let’s wait for the last answer!
It is unclear if the large stockpile of aluminum will be used as raw materials for the upcoming factory or re-exported elsewhere.
Mr. Danh - the province’s customs department head, said no customs inspection was held to clear the reason why a huge stockpile was here because the importer has not carried out the import procedure for use or for re-export yet. In fact, this answer is possibly accepted due to the function of bonded warehouse, which suspends tariff duty and serves the importers’ purpose. Moreover, Mr. Danh also said the aluminum volume is more likely to be stored for partial import and used as raw materials for the new factory, because Global Vietnam Aluminum Corporation has not had any export shipment so far.
Whereas, an official in charge of certificates of origin with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the aluminum may only be temporarily stored in Vietnam just to facilitate hiding-plot certificate and to wait for new movement. If it is true, shipper will enjoy tax incentives or avoid anti-dumping tariffs when exporting to elsewhere.
Let’s wait for the last answer!
