Vietnam Considers Reducing Import Tariffs on Heavy Trucks

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Nov. 12 – Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance is considering reducing tariffs on imported trucks next year, a move that would bring the country in line with its WTO commitments.

According to the ministry’s proposal, from 2011 import taxes on completely-built trucks with a carrying capacity of five tons and below would be cut to 30 percent from the current 80 percent, while the tax on 5-10 ton trucks and 10-20 ton trucks would be cut to 25 percent from 54-55 percent and 30 percent respectively.

The ministry believes that the current tariffs are too high in light of the fact that local companies mainly focus on assembling vehicles from imported main parts like engines and chassis.

According the government, the value of imported trucks is not very large, so the tax reduction will not considerably slash the income to the budget.

In the first eight months of 2010, Vietnam spent US$219.4 million to import over 9,100 trucks, most of which were larger than 20 tons.