Vietnam mulls removing fuel duties as Mideast war hits supplies

2026-03-09 - 05:33

Officials drafted measures to slash import tax on certain petroleum products, aiming to stabilise domestic energy markets. (EPA Images pic) HANOI: Vietnam is considering a plan to scrap tariffs on fuel imports, the government said, as the US-Israeli war with Iran disrupts oil supplies and pushes prices to their highest level since 2022. The ministry of finance said Sunday it had drafted a decree that would slash import tax rates to zero on some petroleum products to “help stabilise the domestic market and ensure national energy security”. “If the conflict continues and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz persists, alternative supplies on the international market will become scarce and risk driving prices up,” it said in a statement, referring to the waterway through which a fifth of global crude passes. Since the war began more than a week ago with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, prices of fuel in Vietnam have risen sharply and the government has implemented emergency pricing protocols. The cost of the most widely used grade of gasoline has risen 21% to 27,040 Vietnamese dong (US$1.03) per litre – the highest since July 2022, state media reported. According to the finance ministry’s proposal, which must be approved by the government, the tariff decree would be effective until the end of April. The crisis in the Middle East has seen crude prices soar to nearly US$120 a barrel, the highest since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.