The workshop was supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with the participation of Deputy Head of the General Department of Customs, Vu Ngoc Anh, Deputy Mission Director of USAID in Vietnam Craig Hart and Director of USAID’s Economic Growth and Governance Office Michael Trueblood.
The workshop brought together more than 50 government officials to develop a roadmap for implementation of the B and C commitments after the Agreement comes into effect. The GDVC of the Ministry of Finance will report the action plan to Vietnam’s newly created National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC). The final list of Category B and C commitments will be notified to the WTO Secretariat when the Agreement comes into force.
Once in effect, the TFA will enhance national and business competitiveness and boost trade and investment in Vietnam by committing Vietnam to reforms in support of trade facilitation. This workshop is one of a number of activities on which the USAID Governance for Inclusive Growth (GIG) Program is collaborating with the General Department of Vietnam Customs and other donors to successfully implement the TFA.
The Government of Vietnam is working with USAID through the GIG Program on a number of other reforms in cooperation with Vietnam’s business community and organizations to support sustainable, inclusive economic growth in Vietnam.
The officials completed reviewing the list of Category A, revalidated the B and C commitments, and developed an action plan for implementation of the B and C commitments. The action plan details activities, objectives and outputs for each commitment along with the timeframe, needed technical assistance, responsibilities of each agency, and the mechanism for coordination.
