Industry minister grilled by NA deputies
Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang on April 1 engaged in a Q & A session with the National Assembly Standing Committee on issues relating to his ministry’s State management responsibility.
Among those were measures to raise the efficiency and effectiveness of market management as well as the responsibility for the State management of electricity and minerals.
Admitting the fact that foreign traders have bought agricultural products in Vietnam in recent years in the absence of designated representatives as required by law, Hoang said his ministry was aware of the situation and reviewed the legal framework, especially the Law on Trade and the Law on Competitiveness, to deal with it.
Under the law, foreign traders with no official representatives in Vietnam can only purchase Vietnamese goods through a local legal entity. However, many continued to violate this regulation.
The ministry has instructed market management forces nationwide to prevent and settle this problem, he said, adding that since the beginning of this year, the phenomenon has not been seen in many localities.
Hoang attributed this situation to weak popularisation work and ineffective inter-sectoral coordination.
In the coming time, the ministry will continue to improve the enforcement capacity of competent forces, especially market watchdogs, in order to promptly prevent the illegal activity, he said.
Regarding the State management of minerals, he said that his ministry was responsible for the illegal export of minerals, which caused losses to the State budget and natural resource depletion.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade will collaborate more closely with other ministries and localities, particularly those in mountainous areas, in the management of businesses involved in extracting minerals.
Responding to NA deputies’ questions on the shortage of power for agro-seafood production in the Mekong Delta region, Minister Hoang said the rapid development of aquaculture areas in the region has resulted in a power supply-demand imbalance.
The power sector will do its best to meet the demand for agricultural production, he noted, asking localities to better their planning work to ensure sufficient power supply.
He suggested the NA allocate budget for a programme to bring electricity to rural areas.
Also at the session, which was broadcast live, the minister reported to the NA Standing Committee the outcomes of the “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods” programme.