Revamping commodity management and trade protection

Officials of the Hoanh Mo Border Gate Customs Branch (Quang Ninh Customs Department) inspect import and export goods. Illustrative photo: Q.H

Clearly define coordination responsibilities

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the utilization of trade defense measures to mitigate the negative impacts of harmful import practices on domestic industries has become a global trend in the context of economic integration.

Consequently, trade defense regulations have been enshrined as a cornerstone within the international trade legal framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the domestic legal systems of its member countries. Notably, trade defense laws have been widely employed to safeguard domestic industries from unfair competition arising from dumped or subsidized imports, as well as surges in imports.

After nearly seven years of implementation, Decree No. 10/2018/ND-CP on trade defense measures has revealed numerous shortcomings and limitations. To rectify these issues and strengthen legal protections for domestic production, the MoIT is currently drafting a new decree to replace Decree No. 10/2018/ND-CP.

In response to this draft, the Ministry of Finance has raised several concerns regarding the roles and responsibilities of Ministry of Finance, including its involvement in investigations, reviewing the application of trade defense measures; the coordination in verifying the authenticity and validity of quality certificates issued by manufacturers and exporters; the responsibilities of customs authorities in cases where the Ministry of Industry and Trade applies trade defense instruments in the form of import quotas and tariff-rate quotas...

Regarding the coordinated responsibilities in investigating and reviewing the application of trade defense measures, the Ministry of Finance has pointed out that Article 18 of the draft decree stipulates that customs authorities are responsible for providing data and information on the quantity, volume, value, and amount of trade defense duties on imported and exported goods to the investigating authority for purposes related to investigating, applying, and handling trade defense measures.

However, this current level of cooperation is limited to providing data and information; it does not involve direct collaboration with the investigating authority in investigating and verifying information related to the export and import activities of enterprises.

4In reality, customs authorities are directly involved in handling export and import procedures and implementing trade defense measures. They are well-positioned to understand the situation and the level of compliance of enterprises with the Ministry of Industry and Trade's decisions on applying trade defense measures, as well as the methods that enterprises commonly use to circumvent these measures.

Therefore, according to the Ministry of Finance, to ensure the comprehensiveness, objectivity, and transparency of decisions on applying trade defense measures and prevention of the evasion of trade remedies, the drafting body should consider adding a provision to sub-clause c, clause 1 of Article 18 of the draft decree, stipulating that customs authorities shall: Cooperate directly with the investigating authority in conducting investigations into the application of trade defense measures, reviewing the application of trade defense measures, investigating and reviewing the application of measures on prevention of the evasion of trade remedies, upon the request of the Ministry of Industry and Trade."

Ensure management and processing time

In addition, the Ministry of Finance has proposed a collaborative approach to verifying the authenticity and validity of quality certificates issued by manufacturers and exporters. The current draft decree stipulates that customs authorities are responsible for verifying these certificates for goods subject to the application of measures on prevention of the evasion of trade remedies, as outlined in clauses 4 and 5 of Article 96.

However, to ensure the feasibility of the verification process by customs authorities and to avoid delays in customs clearance, the Ministry of Finance suggests the following provisions:

If there are reasonable grounds to doubt the authenticity or validity of a quality certificate submitted by an importing enterprise, the General Department of Vietnam Customs shall collaborate with the Trade Remedies Authority (under the Ministry of Industry and Trade) to verify the certificate's authenticity and validity, in accordance with their respective authorities and legal provisions.

While the Trade Remedies Authority is conducting the verification, if the importing enterprise requests customs clearance, the imported goods may be temporarily subject to anti-circumvention duties. Upon completion of the verification by the Trade Remedies Authority, customs authorities shall adjust the duties in accordance with applicable tax laws.

Furthermore, to ensure consistency and avoid complications during implementation, the Ministry of Finance proposes to extend the requirement for customs authorities to verify the authenticity and validity of quality certificates submitted by importing enterprises to goods subject to anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguard measures, similar to the provisions for goods subject to prevention of the evasion of trade remedies."