Continuing Measures against Origin Fraud

The official implementation of EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will surely open up many opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to penetrate the global playing field. However, there are also many challenges for Vietnamese goods in terms of competition, origin of goods and especially on trade remedies.

The data show that, in the process of implementing the policy of proactive integration in the period of 2000-2016, there were 15 cases investigating avoidance of trade remedies on Vietnamese exports (one case per year on average). In particular, only from 2017 to the first quarter of 2020, there were seven new cases (an average of two cases per year). This trend is expected to continue to increase as Vietnam increasingly asserts its position in the global supply chain. Without positive measures to deal with the problem of illegal evasion of trade remedies, especially through origin fraud, it may affect domestic businesses and industries; in the long run, there will also be a negative impact on the competitiveness of the economy in the context that the country has participated in a series of FTAs ​​with high requirements on origin, such as EVFTA.

Recently, the Prime Minister signed Decision 824/QD-TTg on promulgating a Project to strengthen state management in fighting against evasion of trade remedies and origin fraud, which set out two main target groups. State management should be enhanced for export and import activities; early warning, preventing evasion of selective trade remedies and origin fraud; promoting fighting against goods origin fraud by strengthening the effectiveness of issuing and inspecting certificate of origin (C/O). On the other hand, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of State management by perfecting the regulations on consideration and settlement of foreign investment registration, and management of foreign investment projects in the fields of manufacturing and trading commodities likely to evade trade remedies and origin fraud. It is essential to enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement on fighting evasion, origin and customs by improving the coordination among ministries, industries, localities and business community; strengthening propaganda activities, disseminating regulations on rules of origin, combating evasion, risk of countries applying measures of preventing evasion to increase response capacity of industries.

Especially in 2020, customs authorities will promote the propaganda to people and businesses about the harms and consequences of fraud, counterfeiting C/O, labeling Vietnamese goods for export and illegally transporting goods to Vietnam. Anti-smuggling customs agency strengthens close cooperation with countries' customs agencies and the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia and the Pacific to promptly collect information and coordinate in verifying C/O having signs of fraud

Huong Hau (Vietnam Business Forum)