Harmonizing regulations from trade agreements

Photo caption — Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha explains and clarifies the opinions of National Assembly Deputies

E-commerce security

According to the Deputy Prime Minister , in terms of law, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law has a model law on this issue. Vietnam may be slower than some countries, but we have paid quite comprehensive attention, with laws on consumer protection, laws on electronic transactions and related decrees. In particular, in the development of information technology applications, Vietnam has built population data (Project 06), which is very convenient for us to solve problems arising from e-commerce safety. Although there are laws, concretizing laws and integrating policies is an urgent task to ensure security, safety and confidentiality of personal data, as well as prevent and combat counterfeit goods, fake goods and online fraud.

Agreeing with the National Assembly delegates' opinion on how to institutionalize social networking platforms to be able to manage them, the Deputy Prime Minister said that any platform that participates and has services in our country must comply with the provisions of Vietnamese law, but must also calculate in harmony with international law. We also need to set out specific criteria and conditions related to network security, data, transactions, contracts and identification, electronic signatures, and the legality of electronic documents.

“We can completely use artificial intelligence to manage all activities in the digital environment, including managing the identity of participants such as sellers, markets or platforms to provide e-commerce. It is even possible to calculate that if combined with personal data, it is completely possible to identify personal information. Regulations on cyber security are extremely necessary, including issues related to protecting personal information,” Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha stated.

The Deputy Prime Minister suggested that the Ministry of Information and Communications study and build a platform for Vietnam to integrate all activities, from identification issues, technology security to payment, customs, establish a synchronous logistics and control through these systems... In the digital environment, we can manage more intelligently, even better than in the traditional environment.

Harmonizing regulations from trade agreements

Vietnam has participated in 16 agreements and there will be more in the future, but the Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged that the benefits for domestic enterprises are not great. Meanwhile, many trade markets and many FDI enterprises have taken advantage of these agreements, especially those related to the tax sector... Rapidly implementing legalization to harmonize regulations from trade agreements is a mandatory requirement.

The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that in the past, even domestic enterprises have been very slow in resolving trade conflicts, including international trade disputes, domestic trade disputes, and issues related to property and bankruptcy, and this is a major concern internationally. Small and medium-sized enterprises still lack understanding and do not have full information about the legal environment and policies of markets that have agreements with us. The problem is to support businesses to grasp and comply with regulations and improve the quality of goods and products according to international standards.

The Deputy Prime Minister suggested building a national database to help businesses grasp changes and promptly respond to policies of trade markets of other countries. At the same time, we must also build technical trade barriers to protect domestically produced goods and domestic businesses.

Emphasizing that attracting FDI is associated with creating conditions for domestic enterprises to develop, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that stricter criteria must be set for FDI enterprises. FDI enterprises must enter new fields, emerging technologies and must commit to research and technology transfer, so that Vietnamese enterprises can participate in supporting industries in ecosystems, investment fields such as renewable energy centers, high-speed railways, high technology or other energy fields.

Research to supplement regulations on individual seller account authentication

Speaking at the end of the question-and-answer session on the second group of issues in the field of industry and trade, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man said that industry and trade is an important field, having a great impact on economic and social development and the lives of people and businesses. The question-and-answer session was lively and highly responsible. 107 delegates registered to speak and received 40 comments, including 34 questions and 6 debates. The Minister basically answered all the issues raised by the National Assembly delegates.

The National Assembly Chairman acknowledged that in recent times, the activities of the Industry and Trade sector have seen many innovations, e-commerce activities have developed strongly; policies and laws on consumer rights protection have been improved, especially in e-commerce activities; many prominent cases of counterfeit goods sales and intellectual property infringement on social networks have been discovered and strictly handled. The effective exploitation of free trade agreements that Vietnam has signed has contributed significantly to export results, with export turnover continuously increasing. Supporting industries have increasingly developed, providing raw materials and accessories for domestic production, and the localization rate has been increased in many manufacturing industries.

However, in addition to the achieved results, e-commerce activities, counterfeit goods, fake goods, and poor quality goods are still complicated. Export turnover is not yet sustainable, still depends heavily on a number of large markets, foreign-invested enterprises still account for a large proportion of total export turnover, the efficiency of exploiting incentives from FTA agreements is not as expected. The rate of mechanization in some stages of agricultural production is still low; the effectiveness of implementing preferential policies in the supporting industry and mechanical industry is still limited.

The National Assembly Chairman requested the Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and relevant ministries to continue to improve laws related to e-commerce and consumer protection. Study and supplement regulations on authentication of individual seller accounts and provision of information on e-commerce applications; implement decentralization and delegation of authority in management, supervision, and resolution of online disputes in e-commerce activities. At the same time, promote the implementation of the campaign "Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods"; propagate for consumers to carefully study product information and sellers in online transactions. Proactively review and request competent agencies to strictly handle violations of the law; strengthen connection and data sharing among ministries, branches, and localities to exploit information and protect consumer rights in e-commerce.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade promotes trade, expands and diversifies international markets in conjunction with improving product quality, and deeply participates in regional and global supply chains. Closely coordinates with industry associations to promptly resolve difficulties and problems in production, transportation, and export of goods. Enhances the capacity of trade representative agencies, regularly updates regulations and policies of foreign markets, promptly provides information and recommendations to industry associations and export enterprises.

In 2024, issue a set of indicators to evaluate the implementation results of FTAs in localities. Strengthen early warning of trade defense lawsuits; guide and support businesses in responding to lawsuits. Prepare necessary conditions to support businesses in effectively exploiting opportunities to participate in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Strengthen trade promotion, diversify markets, improve product quality, and deeply participate in regional and global supply chains.

The National Assembly Chairman also noted that the Ministry should research and develop the Law on Key Industries; the Supporting Industry Development Program for the 2026-2035 period, focusing on developing smart electronics, automobiles, mechanics and automation, high technology, textiles, footwear and leather. Complete policies to attract organizations and individuals to invest and participate in developing rural industrial production, promote agricultural mechanization, and processing agricultural and forestry products. Have solutions to develop human resources, research, design, technology transfer, digital transformation application, and improve the capacity of supporting industry enterprises. Develop complete product manufacturing and assembly industries, attract multinational corporations to invest in large-scale projects in Vietnam, gradually expand to foreign markets to take advantage of signed FTAs; implement policies to encourage the use of domestic supporting industry and mechanical industry products.

LA (according to Tin Tuc newspaper)

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