Decision No. 444/QD-TTg on approving the Implementation Plan for the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the approval of the Implementation Plan for the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement

_________________

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Science and Technology,

DECISION:

Article 1. Approve the Implementation Plan for the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the TBT Agreement) with the main contents as follows:

1. Objectives

a) Carry out preparatory work to fully implement the obligations under the TBT Agreement from the time Vietnam joins the World Trade Organization (WTO) and maintain its implementation during Vietnam's membership in this organization to develop trade relations with WTO member countries, while meeting the economic and social development goals and international economic integration objectives set forth by the Party and State.

b) Ensure that the technical regulatory document system, standards, and conformity assessment procedures comply with Vietnamese law, and at the same time meet the basic principles of the TBT Agreement, including non-discrimination, non-trade barriers, and transparency in the process of formulation and enforcement.

c) Strengthen coordination among ministries, sectors, and localities in implementing the TBT Agreement in Vietnam to fulfill the Agreement's obligations and ensure the legitimate interests of the country.

d) Enhance awareness among ministries, sectors, and localities, particularly businesses, to take advantage of opportunities and address challenges arising from joining the WTO generally and implementing the TBT Agreement specifically.

2. Specific tasks

a) Improve the technical regulatory document system.

Review technical regulatory documents stipulating product characteristics, goods, or related processes and production methods, and relevant provisions on applicability, scope of regulation, and effectiveness, ensuring compliance with the basic principles and requirements of Vietnamese law on regulatory documents and the TBT Agreement.

Based on the review results, ministries, sectors, and localities will amend documents that are not in compliance and develop new ones in accordance with their authority to issue regulatory documents.

b) Improve the Vietnamese standard system.

Develop and review the Vietnamese Standard (TCVN) and Industry Standard (TCN) system to gradually harmonize it with international systems based on ensuring common economic and social benefits and enhancing the competitiveness of businesses when Vietnam becomes a WTO member.

c) Strengthen conformity assessment activities with technical regulatory documents and standards.

Conformity assessment activities must be planned and carried out in a focused manner, avoiding dispersion, duplication, and inefficiency; and be consistent with the guidance of relevant international organizations to serve the management requirements for product quality and production and business needs.

d) Establish an inter-ministerial committee on trade-related technical barriers (referred to as the TBT Inter-Ministerial Committee).

The TBT Inter-Ministerial Committee has the task of advising the Ministry of Science and Technology and other state agencies on coordinating measures to ensure the implementation of TBT Agreement obligations in Vietnam, especially issues related to the enforcement mechanism of the Agreement, providing advice to resolve disputes over trade-related technical barriers arising between WTO member countries and Vietnam and between Vietnam and other WTO members.

The composition of the TBT Inter-Ministerial Committee includes:

- The Chairman is a representative of the leadership of the Ministry of Science and Technology;

- The Deputy Chairman is a representative of the leadership of the General Department of Standards Measurement and Quality;

- Secretary Member: Director of the National Notification and Inquiry Point Office on Standards Measurement and Quality (referred to as the TBT Vietnam Office);

- Other Members: representatives of the leadership of the Department or equivalent level of the Ministries of Commerce; Industry; Culture, Sports and Tourism; Posts and Telecommunications; Construction; Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs; Natural Resources and Environment; Transport; Agriculture and Rural Development; Fisheries; Health; Justice; Finance; Science and Technology; Government Office.

When necessary, the TBT Inter-Ministerial Committee may invite domestic and foreign experts to consult on specific professional issues.

e) Establish a network of national notification and inquiry points on trade-related technical barriers (referred to as the TBT Network in Vietnam).

Form a network to provide information to ensure that the TBT Vietnam Office fulfills the transparency requirements of the TBT Agreement by:

- Ensuring information for the TBT Vietnam Office to notify WTO member countries (through the WTO TBT Committee) about technical regulatory documents and conformity assessment procedures that are about to be issued and have the potential to create trade barriers between WTO member countries;

- Providing information and answering questions related to trade-related technical barriers within the scope of management to be sent to relevant parties both domestically and internationally.

f) Promote and disseminate the TBT Agreement and related issues. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall take the lead and coordinate with ministries, sectors, and localities to build and implement an annual program on promoting, disseminating, and training on the TBT Agreement according to the guidelines of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation.

Ensure the enhancement of awareness among all levels and sectors, particularly businesses and consumers, about the opportunities and challenges when implementing the TBT Agreement in Vietnam, thereby proactively taking advantage of opportunities and addressing challenges to develop production and business and protect the legitimate interests of consumers.

Article 2. Measures and Implementation Schedule

1. Implementation Measures

a) For the technical regulatory document system. The amendment and supplementation of technical regulatory documents directly affecting the negotiation process for joining the WTO must be completed before August 15, 2005.

Ministries, sectors, and localities shall seek the agreement of the Ministry of Science and Technology prior to issuing technical regulatory documents within their authority to avoid conflicts in technical content.

As for technical regulatory documents whose amendments and supplements depend on laws or ordinances, the schedule for amending and supplementing these documents will follow the schedule for amending and supplementing the corresponding laws or ordinances.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is responsible for concretizing the criteria for review to ensure that ministries, sectors, and localities can conduct reviews uniformly.

b) For the Vietnamese standard system.

The Ministry of Science and Technology, in collaboration with relevant ministries and sectors, shall complete the Vietnamese standard system before December 31, 2009, ensuring the elimination of outdated standards that do not meet state management requirements regarding quality, production and business demands, and international practices; reviewing and developing new standards in harmony with international or regional standards to facilitate trade, boost exports, and meet national interests, including the increasing domestic consumer demand for product and service quality.

Relevant ministries and sectors shall cooperate with the Ministry of Science and Technology to review industry standards within their designated areas of management, eliminating outdated or overlapping standards that do not align with management objectives, and considering the gradual upgrading of industry standards to Vietnamese standards.

State management agencies must enhance the use of Vietnamese standards or industry standards (when there is no corresponding Vietnamese Technical Standard) as a basis for drafting technical regulatory documents they issue for management purposes within their designated areas.

c) For conformity assessment activities related to technical regulatory documents and standards. The Ministry of Science and Technology, in collaboration with relevant ministries and sectors, shall prepare a proposal for organizing conformity assessment activities to be submitted to the Prime Minister before December 31, 2005.

Ministries, sectors, and localities shall implement plans to mobilize resources and invest in strengthening material and technical capabilities for conformity assessment activities based on the approved proposal for organizing conformity assessments.

The Ministry of Science and Technology, in collaboration with functional inspection agencies at border gates, shall study and submit to the Prime Minister before December 31, 2005, proposals for controlling and preventing substandard goods from entering the Vietnamese market, protecting the interests of domestic production and business enterprises, safeguarding consumer rights, and facilitating the importation of goods for domestic production and consumption.

The Ministry of Science and Technology, in collaboration with relevant ministries and sectors, shall research measures to promote negotiations, signing, and implementation of mutual recognition agreements on standards and quality with WTO member countries to better support trade facilitation between Vietnam and these countries.

d) Publicity and dissemination activities concerning the TBT Agreement and related issues shall focus on the following forms:

- Disseminating general integration knowledge and information about the TBT Agreement through conferences and mass media, specialized websites, and newsletters.

- Developing training materials and curricula, and implementing specialized training on TBT knowledge and standardization, measurement management, and quality management activities.

2. Implementation Schedule

The implementation plan will run from 2005 to 2010 with the following specific schedule:

a) In 2005: carry out tasks aimed at promoting negotiations and Vietnam's accession to the WTO.

b) In 2006-2007: continue implementing tasks to ensure full compliance with the TBT Agreement.

c) In 2008: conduct a mid-term review of the implementation of the plan, assess the impact of the TBT Agreement on production and trade, and propose necessary recommendations.

d) In 2010: conduct a final review of the five-year implementation period.

Article 3. Funding for Implementing the Project

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to prepare the overall budget estimate for implementing the project on the implementation of technical barriers agreements in trade in accordance with the State Budget Law, to be completed before July 15, 2005.

2. Annually, based on the aforementioned overall budget estimate, the Ministry of Finance shall coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology to determine the funding from the central budget for implementing the project; priority should be given to supplementing the funding for 2005 to implement the project to serve negotiations for joining the WTO at the end of 2005.

3. Funding for implementing the project in subsequent years: from the state budget and technical assistance from international organizations and foreign countries (if any).

Article 4. Effective date

This Decision takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 5. Responsibilities for Implementation

1. The Minister of Science and Technology shall be responsible to the Prime Minister for organizing the implementation of the project.

2. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to draft the regulations on the organization and operation of the network of notification and inquiry points of Vietnam on technical barriers in trade to submit to the Prime Minister for issuance before May 30, 2005.

The Ministry of Science and Technology shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to develop and issue the operational regulations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on TBT; establish and support this committee to operate according to its assigned functions.

The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology and relevant ministries and sectors to study and develop and issue before December 31, 2005, regulations on the form, fee levels, procedures for collection, payment, and management of fees for TBT inquiry activities carried out by agencies within the network of notification and inquiry points on TBT.

The Ministry of Science and Technology shall be responsible for guiding and urging relevant ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees under direct central jurisdiction to implement this project; report periodically every six months to the Prime Minister on the results of the project implementation.

3. Ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies and Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees under direct central jurisdiction shall organize and inspect the implementation of the project contents in accordance with the requirements and schedule of the project.

4. During the implementation of the project, if any issues arise, relevant ministries, sectors, and localities shall proactively discuss with the Ministry of Science and Technology to find solutions to address them; in cases where there are disagreements, they must promptly report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision./.