The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has received a petition for an anti-dumping investigation of paper shopping bags imported from Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Products include paper shopping bags with handles of any type classified under HS codes 4819.30.0040 and 4819.40.0040.

The Coalition For Fair Trade in Shopping Bags asked the DOC to impose anti-subsidy duties on paper shopping bags imported from Cambodia, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan (China), Turkey, and Vietnam.

The presumptive period of investigation is from October 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023.

According to the Coalition for Fair Trade in Shopping Bags, in 2022, Vietnam exported $162 million worth of the products to the US, accounting for around 15 per cent of the total.

There are 13 Vietnamese companies listed in the petition. The alleged dumping margin for Vietnamese exporters ranges from 63.67 per cent to 128.81 per cent.

The DOC said the estimated time for an initiation, if any, will be within 20 days of the date of receipt of the petition.