Enhancing Market Integrity and Safeguarding Business Interests

The vertically integrated model of market management forces has demonstrated its excellence over the past five years by overcoming the major flaw of the previous system - the fragmentation by region. A cohesive and coordinated force from the central to the local levels has been established, delivering high performance and productivity, and earning praise from the Government, the business sector and the customers.

High performance

Pursuant to Decision 34/2018/QD-TTg issued by the Prime Minister on August 10, 2018, the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance (DMS) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade was restructured in terms of functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure. This decision came into effect on October 12, 2018. As per this decision, the market management force was vertically integrated from the central to district level to fulfill new duties in alignment with Party and governmental policies.

The vertical model has exhibited its excellence after the reorganization. Firstly, the DMS apparatus at the central level was simplified, consisting of only four bureaus, one office and the Department of Operations. At the local level, each of the 63 provinces and cities had its own market management department. Remarkably, at the local level, there was no sub-departmental level but only subordinate divisions and teams. The number of market management divisions/teams also reduced from 681 to 376 (a 45% decrease). The apparatus simplification did not compromise the vital role of combating smuggling, trade fraudulence and counterfeiting in the domestic market. On the contrary, it enhanced the force’s professionalism and expertise.

Since the adoption of the new model, inspection, examination and sanctioning of administrative violations by the market watchdog have been implemented synchronously, swiftly and uniformly from the central to local levels. Numerous typical cases of smuggling, trade fraudulence and counterfeiting in various localities have been detected and rigorously dealt with by the market management force. The force’s accomplishments have been acknowledged and commended by the Government, the business sector and the public.

Enhanced cooperation with industries and businesses

In light of the intensive international integration, the market has witnessed many new and sophisticated forms of violation. Hence, DMS leaders decided that the prevention and combating of smuggling, trade fraudulence and counterfeiting must be proactive, with solutions to deter and eliminate all potential cases and prioritize “prevention” over “combating”.

DMS leaders stressed that, to prevent violations in advance, rather than focusing on regular market inspection and control activities, in the first nine months of 2023, the market watchdog actively monitored and prioritized preventing violations by investigating and collecting business information in the area to swiftly identify and prevent violations.

As for remote solutions, the market watchdog has recently favored cooperation agreements with domestic and foreign organizations, associations and businesses to prevent acts of trading counterfeit goods, goods of unknown origin, smuggled goods, and goods that violate intellectual property rights.

This year, the DMS has received and worked with delegations from the South Korean Embassy and the World Bearing Industry Association; and a working delegation consisting of the Commercial Counselor of the Danish Embassy, LEGO Group and Rouse Law Firm - the intellectual property representative of LEGO Group in Vietnam. The agency signed memoranda of cooperation with Cooperative Vereniging SNB–REACT U.A (React) in the Asia Pacific and Procter & Gamble Company (P&G).

“Signing cooperation agreements with foreign organizations and corporations doing business in the Vietnamese market will help safeguard the reputation and brands of corporations and protect the rights and interests of consumers,” DMS General Director Tran Huu Linh highlighted. He also confirmed that the cooperation will also help enhance the enforcement of intellectual property rights of the market management force, thus assisting domestic and foreign firms in protecting intellectual property rights for their products or brands.

“There is still much work to do next year and many years to come to transform the market management force into a strong force,” he said. Therefore, in the upcoming period, the force will recognize and position itself in the new market context, not only concentrating on the task of ensuring domestic macroeconomic stability, purifying the market and protecting legitimate businesses and consumers but also performing its new tasks of promoting international integration and international cooperation such as combating origin frauds and trade fraud.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum