Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’s customs sector willhelp businesses carry out procedures while implementingthe Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership(CPTPP), said Deputy General Director of the General Department of VietnamCustoms Nguyen Duong Thai.

Speaking at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on May 28, Thaisaid the customs sector would reform administrative procedures, modernisecustoms, improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness.

Thai said the Ministry of Finance had recently submitted tothe Government a draft decree on preferential export tariffs and specialpreferential import tariffs under the CPTPP agreement for 2019-2022.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs is also finalisingamendments and supplements to Circular 38/2018/TT-BTC on inspection andidentification of goods origin, which is expected to be completed in June andwill be submitted to the Ministry of Finance for approval, he added.

Thai said there are some notable issues brought by the deal,including the fact CPTPP members committed to eliminating 97 percent to100 percent of tariff lines for goods imported from Vietnam.

In contrast, Vietnam also pledged to eliminate tariffs on86.5 percent of tariff lines on imported goods from member countries withinthree years, but still maintains tariff quotas on some items such as sugar,eggs, salt and used cars, Thai said.

He said the CPTPP inherited its advanced rules of origin andorigin procedure from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, encouraging theintegration of member countries and aiming to form a complete supply chain.

Meanwhile, Thai said the procedure for certification oforigin would be simplified, as the deal allows the origin of goods to becertified by manufacturers, exporter or importers.

Traditionally, the certificate of origin must be issued bythe competent authority of the exporting country or the manufacturing country, Thaisaid.

At the workshop, experts discussed tax policies and customsprocedures as well as rules of origin of goods in the CPTPP.

Director of the Ministry of Finance’s InternationalCooperation Department Vu Nhu Thang said that when Vietnam joins the CPTPP, itsexports to the member countries would enjoy import tax incentives.

This is a good condition for Vietnamese enterprises toaccess new markets, especially its advantageous products such as seafood,textiles, footwear and agricultural products, Thang said, adding that however,opportunities also come with challenges as businesses have to compete withgoods of importing countries in Vietnam.

Tran Van Cong, Deputy Director of the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development’s Agro Processing and Market DevelopmentAuthority, said Vietnam needed to step up the building of a national standardand regulation system, trademarks and national brands.

Authorities need to have a plan for the cuts of import andexport taxes of members in the CPTPP for Vietnamese goods so that enterprisescould have timely response plans, Cong said.

The CPTPP agreement gathers 11 member countries, namelyAustralia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru,Singapore and Vietnam.

The deal took effect from December 30, 2018, while Vietnamratified the agreement on January 14, 2019.

Under the trade pact, Vietnam’s GDP is expected to increaseby 1.32 percent annually, while export turnover may increase 4.04 percent andimport turnover by 3.8 percent.-VNA