Answer box
Vietnam has grown its steel and aluminium exports into the EU significantly, particularly through the Hoa Phat, Formosa Ha Tinh, and SMC groups. Both BF-BOF and EAF routes are present; grid electricity remains coal-heavy, which matters for aluminium downstream but not for steel direct scope. Vietnamese-language supplier forms are planned; the current flow uses the English portal.
What the Vietnamese supply chain looks like
- Steel: Hoa Phat (BF-BOF, EAF) and Formosa Ha Tinh (BF-BOF) are the large integrated players. Mid-size rolling mills import billet or slab.
- Aluminium: downstream extrusions and sheet are the main export lines; unwrought-aluminium origin is often imported, so precursor tracking matters.
- Downstream: tubes, pipes and fasteners for EU construction, automotive and solar markets.
What to ask
- 12 months of fuel bills.
- Production tonnes by 8-digit CN code.
- Grid electricity consumption (for aluminium indirect scope — not counted today, but useful for cross-sector comparability).
- Precursor origin, especially for downstream products.
- Monitoring plan — larger Vietnamese mills typically have one.
Vietnam ETS: not yet
Vietnam has announced plans for domestic carbon pricing (voluntary market, pilot phase) but has no operational ETS. The “carbon price paid” deduction is not claimable for Vietnamese-origin goods as of October 2026.
State of verification
- Several ISO 14064 verifiers operate in Vietnam.
- EU CBAM-accredited verifiers travel to Vietnam for first-year site visits.
- Clustering visits with other Southeast Asia installations keeps cost reasonable.
Common importer concerns
- “Vietnam avoids US tariffs — will CBAM counter-balance that?” CBAM is a carbon border adjustment, not a tariff. The two can stack but address different things.
- “We buy via a Hong Kong trader.” Same rule: the declaration needs the installation that produced the goods, not the trader. CBAMWorks invites the installation directly.