On July 11, 2025, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) launched anti-circumvention investigations into disposable aluminium containers, pans, trays, and lids imported from Vietnam and Thailand. The petition was filed by the Aluminum Foil Container Manufacturers Association.
But in general, US also imported significant amount of aluminium foil from other Asian nations like Japan and South Korea. In 2024, as per OEC data, US imported around USD 14 million aluminium foils from South Korea and USD 78.8 million from Japan. So, why the probe was launched only upon Vietnam and Thailand?
According to the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam, the probe is based on suspicions that aluminium foil produced in China is being shipped to countries, processed into finished products, and then exported to the US effectively bypassing the existing anti-dumping and countervailing duties on similar Chinese products.
Now here comes the question – Why the products are being shipped to countries like Vietnam and Thailand? Secondly, how will China be benefitted from it?
For the unversed, there were already antidumping and countervailing duties in place on aluminium containers coming directly from China. Now since China cannot send their foil products directly to the US, they decided to bypass it through Vietnam and Thailand – as a result evading those duties (a practice known as "circumvention.")
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