Some standards and technical regulations need to be clarified

Workers at a factory in Việt Nam. The local business community suggested that some standards and technical regulations under a draft law need to be clarified. — Photo doanhnghiepvn.vn

HÀ NỘI — Some standards and technical regulations under a draft law need to be clarified to facilitate the business community, a conference has been told.

A representative from iệt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)’s Legal Department said the draft law amending and supplementing parts of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for comments at the upcoming 8th session.

The draft law will have some amendments and supplements that can greatly affect the activities of the local business community. Thus their participation in developing the draft law should be facilitated, the representative said, adding that the draft law should also offer ways to cut administrative procedures for businesses in assessing and confirming product conformity.

In addition, the draft law fails to have regulations on responding to, receiving and explaining the opinions of businesses and competent authorities. Businesses have opinions but do not know how the receiving agency will handle them.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Trang, Director of the WTO and Integration Centre under VCCI said currently, many free trade agreements (FTAs) have commitments on standards and technical regulations according to principles that are non-discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade.

The draft law needs to provide core principles and requirements in the procedures for developing and applying the technical barriers to trade and measures to manage assessment organisations, Trang said.

During an event in Hà Nội last week a representative of Canon Vietnam said that the draft fails to have regulations on the recognition and acceptance of foreign standards and regulations.

Việt Nam has been actively participating in FTAs ​​and international economic organisations, so applying international standards is inevitable for Vietnamese goods to access the world’s large markets, the representative from Canon Vietnam said.

The event also saw a memorandum of understanding (MoU) inked between VCCI and the Commission for the Standards, Metrology and Quality of Việt Nam (STAMEQ).

Under the MoU, the two sides will cooperate to support the Vietnamese business community in promoting economic, trade, scientific, technological, and innovation development.

They will team up to review and assess the implementation of technical standards and regulations to remove unnecessary barriers affecting business operations and support and facilitate enterprises related to technical standards and regulations.

At the same time, they will help enterprises and associations promptly grasp the latest legal regulations and technical requirements in the country and in target export markets that are currently and expected to be applied.

According to VCCI, these are practical activities to encourage the participation of enterprises and associations in developing and implementing technical standards and regulations of Việt Nam and foreign countries.

At the same time, these activities will also provide enterprises with updated information about policies in production and business activities. Thereby contributing to improving the quality of Vietnamese products and goods with other countries, serving the goals of socio-economic development and international integration. — VNS