Tran Huu Huynh, head of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry(VVCI)'s Advisory Committee on International Trade Policies, tells HaiQuan (Customs) that local enterprises should unite and practise an openmanagement policy to remain competitive.
* What are your thoughtsabout Vietnamese enterprises' ability to maximise the opportunitiesinternational integration will present?
I want to divide the integration process into three stages.
Between 1995 and 2000, Vietnam joined ASEAN and signed the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement.
Duringthe second stage, from 2001-2007, Vietnam entered a new stage withwider international integration starting by joining the World TradeOrganisation and signing bilateral FTAs with other countries in theregion.
And in the third stage, from 2007 up to now, Vietnam hasnegotiated and signed bilateral agreements with 12 countries which arefuture members of the Trans Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement (TPP)and the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Area.
During this process, theVietnamese Government in particular and the State in general has carriedout administrative reforms, including revisions to the Investment Lawand the Enterprise Law along the lines of transparency in the businessenvironment, while minimising administrative costs.
However,according to a survey conducted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce(VCCI), only 37 percent of over 300 business associations expressed aninterest in international business policies, and only 30 percent ofVietnamese enterprises had received advice from experts.
Anothersurvey conducted by the VCCI showed that some 80 percent of Vietnameseenterprises had heard about the concept of integration, but not indetail. They didn't know how to access Government support forinternational integration. That's why there are two main trends amongenterprises. Firstly, they keep calling on the government to give themfurther trade protection, a thing that Vietnam cannot do underinternational commitments. Secondly, the enterprises have failed to makethe best use of "the gap" in agreements which Vietnam is a signatoryto, including the Government's policies on credit support, exportsupport, quotas and licensing.
* According to the integrationprocess, the Government's support policies will have to be gradually cutback. That means there is not much time for enterprises to utilise "thegap". Do you agree?
I think the Government will try to issuepolicies or mechanisms to help enterprises in the process ofinternational integration. Of course, these will not break what Vietnamhas committed to. For example, the enterprises should not ask theGovernment to increase import tariffs to protect Vietnamese enterprises.As a signatory to any FTA or other bilateral agreements, we can onlycut down import tariffs, not increase them.
* What about other areas?
In the past, non-tariff measures, including licences or quotas, weresomething we could intervene in, but now it is totally prohibited.
Ithink technical barries and quarantine measures are tools that we canuse to help Vietnamese enterprises gain an advantage over foreignexporters. On a level playing field, this is the only tool we have toprotect our domestic products.
* What should Vietnamese enterprises change to adapt to the new situation?
This is a very difficult question to answer.
Asyou know, this new generation of FTAs include very high standards,particularly the TPP. There are 12 TPP members, and most of them aredeveloped countries. Only Vietnam is a middle-income country. This is adisadvantage for us, particularly in the area of public procurement,trade unions, the environment and labour. In my opinion, these issuesare big challenges for us, but during the negotiations, we have askedfor transitional periods.
The capacity of our enterprises is alsovery weak. Though Vietnam has integrated internally for dozens ofyears, the majority of our enterprises are small and medium, and thereare only a few big economic groups.
The Government shouldcontinue to stabilise the macroeconomy while trying to practise freetrade as written in the 2013 Constitution.
Secondly, we should make use of technical barrier and quarantine measures.
Andfinally, enterprises should adopt a global mindset. They should uniteand practise an open policy on enterprise management or else FDIcompanies based in the country will take this opportunity away fromlocal firms.-VNA
* What are your thoughtsabout Vietnamese enterprises' ability to maximise the opportunitiesinternational integration will present?
I want to divide the integration process into three stages.
Between 1995 and 2000, Vietnam joined ASEAN and signed the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement.
Duringthe second stage, from 2001-2007, Vietnam entered a new stage withwider international integration starting by joining the World TradeOrganisation and signing bilateral FTAs with other countries in theregion.
And in the third stage, from 2007 up to now, Vietnam hasnegotiated and signed bilateral agreements with 12 countries which arefuture members of the Trans Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement (TPP)and the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Area.
During this process, theVietnamese Government in particular and the State in general has carriedout administrative reforms, including revisions to the Investment Lawand the Enterprise Law along the lines of transparency in the businessenvironment, while minimising administrative costs.
However,according to a survey conducted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce(VCCI), only 37 percent of over 300 business associations expressed aninterest in international business policies, and only 30 percent ofVietnamese enterprises had received advice from experts.
Anothersurvey conducted by the VCCI showed that some 80 percent of Vietnameseenterprises had heard about the concept of integration, but not indetail. They didn't know how to access Government support forinternational integration. That's why there are two main trends amongenterprises. Firstly, they keep calling on the government to give themfurther trade protection, a thing that Vietnam cannot do underinternational commitments. Secondly, the enterprises have failed to makethe best use of "the gap" in agreements which Vietnam is a signatoryto, including the Government's policies on credit support, exportsupport, quotas and licensing.
* According to the integrationprocess, the Government's support policies will have to be gradually cutback. That means there is not much time for enterprises to utilise "thegap". Do you agree?
I think the Government will try to issuepolicies or mechanisms to help enterprises in the process ofinternational integration. Of course, these will not break what Vietnamhas committed to. For example, the enterprises should not ask theGovernment to increase import tariffs to protect Vietnamese enterprises.As a signatory to any FTA or other bilateral agreements, we can onlycut down import tariffs, not increase them.
* What about other areas?
In the past, non-tariff measures, including licences or quotas, weresomething we could intervene in, but now it is totally prohibited.
Ithink technical barries and quarantine measures are tools that we canuse to help Vietnamese enterprises gain an advantage over foreignexporters. On a level playing field, this is the only tool we have toprotect our domestic products.
* What should Vietnamese enterprises change to adapt to the new situation?
This is a very difficult question to answer.
Asyou know, this new generation of FTAs include very high standards,particularly the TPP. There are 12 TPP members, and most of them aredeveloped countries. Only Vietnam is a middle-income country. This is adisadvantage for us, particularly in the area of public procurement,trade unions, the environment and labour. In my opinion, these issuesare big challenges for us, but during the negotiations, we have askedfor transitional periods.
The capacity of our enterprises is alsovery weak. Though Vietnam has integrated internally for dozens ofyears, the majority of our enterprises are small and medium, and thereare only a few big economic groups.
The Government shouldcontinue to stabilise the macroeconomy while trying to practise freetrade as written in the 2013 Constitution.
Secondly, we should make use of technical barrier and quarantine measures.
Andfinally, enterprises should adopt a global mindset. They should uniteand practise an open policy on enterprise management or else FDIcompanies based in the country will take this opportunity away fromlocal firms.-VNA
