Vietnam has set up drastic measures to prevent trade fraud activities, especially foreign goods from forging Vietnam’s origin and later being exported to a third country, according to Le Thi Thu Hang, spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
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Over the past few days, the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) has stepped up efforts to tackle such violations and protect domestic production, Hang added.
Previously, Director General of GDVC Nguyen Van Can said the agency would tighten its monitoring and checking procedures to identify goods violating rules of origins, while goods prone to origin certificate fraud are mostly textile, fishery, agricultural products, steel, aluminum, processed wooden products, among others.
Hoang Thi Thuy, head of Custom Control and Supervision Department under the GDVC, said customs agencies have identified dozens of cases of origin certificate fraud. In 2017, Haiphong’s Customs Department found company named INTERWYSE importing 600 speakers and phone chargers from China but with the “Made in Vietnam” label printed in their packages.
The US Customs Department has also fined FINEWOOD Vietnam Company for exporting wood products forging Vietnamese origin to the US.
An analysis conducted by Nikkei earlier this month showed that while Chinese exports of machinery, electrical equipment and some other products to the US have shown particularly sharp declines, shipments of such goods from China to the US via Vietnam, Taiwan and Mexico rose during the same period.
In January-March 2019, exports of the five items from China to Vietnam, including machinery and parts, electrical equipment and parts, furniture, toys, and automotive equipment and parts, rose by US$1.5 billion, or 20% year-on-year, while exports of the five items from Vietnam to the US surged by US$2.7 billion, or 58%.
Nikkei also noted the items exported from Vietnam to the US that have increased sharply since the introduction of punitive tariffs to items including timber, textiles and a raft of other upstream goods. While this involves the shipment of raw materials, the place of origin can be more easily disguised on upstream items as they are less recognizable than finished products.
Referring to rumor that Apple could shift part of its smartphone production chain from China to some countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, MOFA’s Spokeswoman Hang said there has not been contact between Apple and the Vietnamese government.
Nevertheless, Vietnam welcomes foreign investors to do businesses in the country as long as they comply with international and Vietnamese laws, Hang stressed.
