Vietnam imported nearly 200,000 tonnes of oil products from China in the first two months of the year, down 41 percent year on year, according to Vietnam Customs data.
The export value of China’s oil products followed a similar trend with a 63 percent decrease to $186 million.
From the beginning of 2016, import duties on oil products from China were higher than on those from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations because of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).
Specifically, a 15 percent tax on jet fuels and eight percent on diesel were applied to China’s products, according to the ASEAN– China Free Trade Agreement, while similar products from ASEAN members were exempt. The same rate of 20 percent was imposed on gasoline.
Singapore remained the key supplier of Vietnam’s oil products with 836,000 tonnes for the January-February period, up 51 percent year on year.
Malaysia also saw a significant hike in its volume of oil products imported into Vietnam, from 17,700 tonnes to 190,000 tonnes.
For the first two months of 2016, Vietnam imported a total of 1.7 million tonnes of oil products, up 12.4 percent from the same period in 2015.
Source: VnExpress