Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: Regularly, continuously, and relentlessly fight against trade fraud

On June 23, Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a national online conference to review the work in the first 6 months of 2025 and summarize the peak period of the fight to prevent and repel smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and infringement of intellectual property rights.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference to review the peak period of the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

Operational methods are increasingly sophisticated and complex.

Reporting at the conference, Chief of the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee 389 Le Thanh Hai said that in the first 6 months of 2025, units and localities arrested and handled 50,736 violations; collected more than 6,532.6 billion VND for the budget (up 7.68% over the same period); prosecuted 1,875 criminal cases (up 188.46% over the same period), 3,235 subjects (up 69.11% over the same period).

In the peak month alone, units and localities arrested and handled 10,437 cases of smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods (up 80.51% compared to May); including 1,936 cases of trading and transporting prohibited and smuggled goods (up 173.45% compared to May); 6,870 cases of trade fraud and tax fraud (up 50.72%); 1,631 cases of counterfeit goods and intellectual property infringement (up 216.09%); collected VND 1,279 billion for the budget (up 258.43%); temporarily detained goods and exhibits worth an estimated VND 4,075 billion; prosecuted 204 cases/378 subjects.

"Although the authorities are actively and proactively fighting, due to the huge profits, the situation of smuggled goods and goods with fake origins is still complicated," Mr. Le Thanh Hai informed.

Hanoi city delegation inspects production and business activities and the fight against smuggled and counterfeit goods in La Phu commune. Photo: Minh Ngoc

In Hanoi alone, in the first 6 months of the year, the authorities inspected and handled 8,542/9,582 violations; collected more than VND 2,146 billion for the budget; prosecuted 115 criminal cases with 170 defendants.

The main violations were smuggling, trade fraud, production and trading of counterfeit goods, and intellectual property violations. In the peak month of implementing Official Dispatch 65 alone, the authorities handled 814 cases, prosecuted 7 cases with 16 defendants; the total amount of fines and tax arrears was nearly 16 billion VND.

Commenting on the cause, according to the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee 389, in addition to the increasingly sophisticated tricks of violators, the system of legal documents is incomplete; the responsibilities and awareness of some leaders of local Party committees, authorities and units are unclear; the exchange and sharing of information and databases between agencies is not good...

Faced with the increasingly complicated situation of smuggling and counterfeiting, seriously affecting the health and safety of consumers, Lieutenant General Nguyen Hong Thai - Deputy Minister of National Defense suggested that functional agencies regularly review and overcome loopholes, shortcomings, inadequacies, and institutional overlaps, build sanctions with sufficient deterrence, and improve the effectiveness of the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeiting, and infringement of intellectual property rights...

Speaking at the conference, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that in the coming time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to monitor the market through digital technology, connect interconnected data and perfect the legal mechanism suitable to the characteristics of modern trade.

Along with that, topics on checking counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights will continue to be deployed, along with propaganda activities to raise awareness of law compliance for people and businesses...

Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen - Head of the City Steering Committee 389 spoke at the Hanoi city bridge. Photo: Thanh Hien

Regarding provinces and cities, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen - Head of Hanoi Steering Committee 389 said that Hanoi continues to support people and businesses in building brands, registering intellectual property, producing and trading with the right quality, and making product declarations according to regulations.

In particular, Hanoi will conduct surprise inspections of key areas, fields, and products, especially those traded on e-commerce platforms and products that directly affect people's health such as food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.

"We propose that the National Steering Committee 389 soon issue a document guiding the organization of the local Steering Committee 389 when implementing the two-level government model," Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen proposed.

Do regularly, continuously, without stopping

Concluding the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh frankly assessed that ministries, branches and localities have recently been lax in management, especially in licensing activities for food testing and production.

Awareness and responsibility of some leaders of local Party committees, authorities, units and functional forces are not high; inspection, supervision and post-inspection are still superficial and perfunctory, and there are even cases of assisting and protecting law violators...

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference to review the peak period of the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods. Photo: Duong Giang/ VNA

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested ministries, branches and localities to consider the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods as an important task with the spirit of "Doing it regularly, continuously and without stopping", "handling one case, alerting the whole region and the whole field", "no forbidden areas, no exceptions".

“In particular, focus on and resolutely fight against crimes related to fake drugs and food - two groups of goods that have serious impacts on people's health and lives,” Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directed.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also requested to step up information, propaganda, raise awareness of officials and people, create habits of not using smuggled goods, goods of unknown origin, not supporting smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods. Timely rectify communication activities, advertising, product introduction on mass media.

The authorities need to continue to improve their capacity and professional expertise, especially in new and complex areas such as e-commerce, multi-level marketing, counterfeit goods, intellectual property infringement, etc.; digital transformation, application of information technology, strengthening connection, sharing, and provision of information; ensuring timely collection and processing of reports from the masses.

The Prime Minister requested that from now until the end of the year, ministries and branches must complete and submit to competent authorities to issue new or amend and supplement legal documents, creating a solid legal corridor to improve the effectiveness of this work; complete a strong enough organizational apparatus; meet requirements on finance, means, technology, digital transformation, warehouses, and storage yards for evidence, etc.

The Ministry of Justice is developing a national database on administrative sanctions as a basis for effectively combating smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and goods that infringe intellectual property rights...

People's Committees of provinces and cities should soon complete the local Steering Committee 389 after merging provinces and cities and implementing the two-level local government model.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed launching a movement for the entire population to participate in the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods... Consumers should not use products of unknown origin, and should not support counterfeit goods...

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-thuong-xuyen-lien-tuc-khong-ngung-nghi-chong-gian-lan-thuong-mai-706526.html