Under the decision, the new export tariff will be imposed on non-alloy steel products. Earlier on Sept. 22, the Finance Ministry also cut export tariffs on steel ingots to 10 percent from 20 percent.

According to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), many steel producers had to suspend their operations last month as their products had not yet been consumed. By the beginning of October, nearly 900,000 steel products worth almost US$1 billion still remained in stock.

On the global market, steel prices have constantly decreased and steel ingots are currently being traded at US$620-650/tonne.

VSA also said that steel businesses will still suffer losses even if the export tax on steel drops to zero percent.