Huaian Steel Export to Southeast Asia: Pain Points and Solutions for Agency Services Amid Demand Recovery

In 2026,new changes have emerged in the Huaian steel export market: infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia are advancing continuously,including expressway construction in Vietnam and port expansion projects in Indonesia,which drive a steady increase in demand for steel products such as rebar and hot rolled coils.However,many Huaian steel enterprises have found that despite the seemingly mature steel trade,there are many hidden difficulties in actual operation: dynamic adjustment of anti-dumping duties on some steel products by Vietnam,additional certification for certificate of origin required by Indonesia,and customs clearance delays caused by non-standard document submission,all of which extend the export process and increase costs for enterprises.

Core Value of Zhongshen: Customized Services Precisely Adapted to Steel Export

In view of the characteristics of Huaian steel export,Zhongshen relies on more than 20 years of foreign trade agency experience to focus on solving three core problems: policy adaptation,document compliance and capital turnover.Different from general agency services,Zhongshen will communicate with enterprises in advance to confirm the specific types of steel products (such as construction steel,industrial steel) and target countries (such as Vietnam,Indonesia),and develop exclusive export solutions.For example,in response to Vietnam’s anti-dumping duty policy,it will assist enterprises to check whether their products meet exemption conditions; in response to Indonesia’s environmental protection requirements,it will confirm in advance whether the production process of steel products meets local standards.

Disassembly of Core Service Modules: Targeted Responses for Southeast Asian Market

1.Document Preparation: Solve Differentiated Requirements of Various Countries

The obvious differences in requirements for steel export documents among Southeast Asian countries are the most error-prone link for enterprises.For example,Vietnam Customs requires that the composition test report of steel products comply with VN-STANDARD 1234-2025,and the specific proportions of core elements such as carbon and manganese must be marked; Indonesian Customs requires that the sub-item of HS code (such as the sub-item "unprocessed hot rolled coil" under 730890) must be filled in on the certificate of origin,otherwise normal customs clearance cannot be carried out.

Supervisor Zhu from Zhongshen is responsible for the document review link.She will communicate with enterprises 15 working days in advance to check the details of each document:

• ConfirmtheaccuracyofHScode:CommonlyusedHScodesforHuaiansteelsuchas730890and721399shallbecheckedagainstthelatesttariffscheduleofthetargetcountrytoavoidincreasedtariffscausedbyincorrectcodeclassification
• Verifythequalificationoftestreports:ThetestreportsprovidedbyenterprisesmustbeissuedbyinstitutionsaccreditedbytheChinaNationalAccreditationServiceforConformityAssessment(CNAS).ForspecialstandardsofcountriessuchasVietnamandIndonesia,wewillassistenterprisestosupplementcorrespondingreviewmaterials
• Prepareanti-dumpingcertificates:Foranti-dumpingdutiesimposedonsomesteelproductsbyVietnam,wewillassistenterprisestoprepare"nodumpingstatement"andproductionprocessdescription.Iftheproductsmeetexemptionconditions,wewillalsoassistinsubmittingexemptionapplications

The following is a comparison of main document requirements between Vietnam and Indonesia:

2.Customs Clearance Services: Respond to Port Inspection and Policy Fluctuations

The customs clearance efficiency of some ports in Southeast Asia fluctuates greatly.For example,in the first half of 2026,the inspection rate of steel products at Haiphong Port,Vietnam increased from 10% to 25% due to upgraded environmental protection inspection; while at Jakarta Port,Indonesia,cargo has to wait 3-5 days for inspection after arrival due to port congestion.These situations will lead to increased logistics costs for enterprises,and even affect order delivery time.

Manager Cai from Zhongshen is responsible for customs clearance coordination.He will take the following measures to improve customs clearance efficiency:

• Advancepre-clearance:3workingdaysbeforethecargoarrivesattheport,submitmanifestinformationandscannedcopiesofdocumentstothelocalcustomsclearanceagenttocompletepre-declarationprocedures,reducingwaitingtimeafterarrival
• Targetedinspectionpreparation:ForVietnam’senvironmentalprotectioninspection,prepareenvironmentalprotectionrecordsofthesteelproductionprocessinadvance;forIndonesia’sweightinspection,checktheweightdifferencebetweenthebillofladingandactualcargoinadvance,andexplaininadvanceifthereisanyerror
• Localagentcoordination:Maintainlong-termcooperationwithseniorcustomsclearanceagentsatHaiphongPort,VietnamandJakartaPort,Indonesia,andarefamiliarwiththeinspectionfocusoflocalcustoms.Forexample,in2026,VietnamCustomsfocusesoncheckingwhetherthesurfacecoatingofsteelproductsmeetsenvironmentalprotectionrequirements,andManagerCaiwillnotifyenterprisestopreparerelevanttestreportsinadvance

According to Manager Cai,in the first half of 2026,more than 90% of Huaian steel export goods represented by Zhongshen completed customs clearance within 5 working days,2 days shorter than the industry average.

3.Foreign Exchange and Tax Refund: Solve Capital Turnover Problems

After Huaian steel enterprises export goods,foreign exchange receipt and tax refund cycle are the key factors affecting capital turnover.Some Southeast Asian countries have strict foreign exchange control.For example,Vietnam requires that foreign exchange received must be declared within 7 working days,otherwise late fees will be incurred; Indonesia requires that foreign exchange must be collected and paid through designated banks,otherwise normal foreign exchange settlement cannot be carried out.

Zhongshen’s response measures in foreign exchange and tax refund links:

• Foreignexchangecollectionandpayment:Assistenterprisestoselectbankchannelsthatmeettherequirementsofthetargetcountry,suchasSaigonCommercialBankinVietnamandBankNegaraIndonesia,toensuretimelyreceiptofforeignexchange;atthesametime,remindenterprisestopayattentiontothetimenodeofforeignexchangedeclarationinadvancetoavoidlatefees
• Taxrefundspeedup:InresponsetothelocaltaxrefundpolicyinHuaian,Zhongshenwillsortoutdocumentssuchascustomsdeclarationforms,VATinvoices,billsofladingandforeignexchangememosinadvance,andsubmitthemtothetaxdepartmentafterverification.SupervisorZhumentionedthattheyoncehelpedaHuaiansteelenterpriseshortenthetaxrefundcyclefromtheoriginal45daystolessthan30days,mainlybecausetheysortedoutthedocumentlogicinadvanceandavoidedrepeatedcorrections
• Capitalturnoveradvice:Ifenterprisesneedtorecoverfundsinadvance,ZhongshenwillassistinconnectingwithlocalforeigntradefinancinginstitutionsinHuaiantoprovidetaxrefundfinancingservicesandhelpenterprisesrelievecapitalpressure

Service Advantages: Efficiency Improvement Brought by Experience Accumulation

Zhongshen’s service advantages for Huaian steel export mainly come from long-term tracking and experience accumulation in the Southeast Asian market:

First,we have established a document template library for steel export to Southeast Asia,and update the templates in advance according to the requirements of Vietnam,Indonesia,Malaysia and other countries.Enterprises only need to provide basic information,and we can quickly generate documents that meet the requirements,reducing document preparation time.Second,we maintain regular communication with local customs,and update inspection focus and policy changes once a month.For example,in March 2026,Vietnam Customs adjusted the exemption scope of steel anti-dumping duties,and Zhongshen notified all represented Huaian steel enterprises one week in advance to help them adjust the types of export products in time.

Customized Services: Match the Actual Needs of Huaian Steel Enterprises

Huaian steel enterprises have diverse product types,some mainly produce construction steel,some mainly produce industrial steel,and their target countries are also different.Zhongshen will develop exclusive export solutions according to the specific needs of enterprises: for example,for construction steel exported to Vietnam,focus on preparing anti-dumping certificates and environmental protection test reports; for industrial steel exported to Indonesia,focus on checking the sub-items of HS code and review materials of test reports.

Supervisor Zhu stated that Zhongshen’s service is not "one-size-fits-all",but provides targeted solutions according to the product characteristics and target market of enterprises,to help enterprises solve practical problems and improve export efficiency.