Removing trade barriers for Vietnam agriculture

Doing so will enable these businesses to improve their incomes, better support their families, grow the Vietnamese economy and elevate the national Made-in-Vietnam brand, said Nam.

The largest proportion of non-tariff barriers encountered by agro businesses to date have related to phytosanitary measures dealing with adherence to regulations ensuring food security and preventing the spread of disease.

“The number one problem agriculture and seafood businesses faced resulted from the failure to pay sufficient attention to the quarantine process and food hygiene and safety regulations,” Nam said at a recent interview with a VOV reporter.

Businesses need to clearly understand that if they do not comply with these regulations; their products will not be allowed to be sold in foreign markets, he said, adding that they must innovate and bring their cultivation and breeding methods in compliance.

Nam said the second biggest proportion of non-tariff barriers businesses have experienced involved technical matters related to compliance with often complex product labelling requirements.

Even more significant is the fact that agriculture businesses have failed to fully grasp the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute resolution process for matters related to alleged violations of the phytosanitary or product labelling requirements.

Thus when lawsuits were filed they failed to realise that time was of the essence and that they were required to file a timely response in order to protect their rights.

Most often the failure to timely respond has resulted in a preliminary presumption that the complaint lodged against them was valid.

If these businesses do not raise their awareness of the legal requirements to do business in foreign markets and initiate policies and procedures to assure they are in full compliance with them, then they stand to lose their right to do business in those markets, Nam underscored.

They will lose the right because the foreign market will impose substantial tariffs on their exports making it cost prohibitive to do business at a profit.  It will also reflect negatively on and destroy the international reputation of the Made-in-Vietnam brand, Nam said.

First and foremost before carrying on any business in foreign markets, agricultural businesses should establish an in house legal department staffed with high first rate lawyers and legal clerks who understand the laws of the proposed market.

Secondly they should seek the assistance of outside counsel in the foreign market to insure they understand the intricacies of the law as it relates to their business and put in place a management control system to ensure those requirements are fully communicated to the businesses management team.

Lastly, Nam said that businesses must be proactive and take the initiative to work with relevant governmental agencies, particularly the VCA, and other non-profit organisations to ensure they have met all the necessary requirements to conduct business in the foreign market.