On February 28, the USAID Trade Facilitation Program collaborated with the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Customs Department to organize a workshop on developing a new scheme to reduce congestion at the Cat Lai Port, Vietnam’s largest and most important port that handles more than 40 percent of Vietnam’s total shipping container volume. More than 125 participants (31 female, 94 male) from the Government, private sector, and 16 media houses attended. Through the new scheme, HCMC Customs aims to streamline procedures for goods delivery at Cat Lai port; apply information technology to further shorten the time necessary to complete all procedures at the port; reduce logistics costs for enterprises; improve enterprise satisfaction when carrying out customs procedures; and promote Customs-Business Partnerships.

Vietnam’s Penal Code revisions in 2017 tightened environmental and wildlife regulations for wildlife protection of endangered, precious, and rare animals, as well as imposed stricter violation penalties. In order to help educate the Supreme People's Court (SPC) staff, apply these changes, and enhance the working capacity of judges and judicial officers, the USAID Saving Species project supported the development of training materials and provided training to staff nationwide. In January and February, the project organized two training courses for 130 participants including judges, court examiners, and clerks (32 female and 98 male) in 40 of 63 provinces nationwide. The participants learned about the Penal Code revisions including wildlife poaching and trafficking at the international level and in Vietnam, and related laws on wildlife crimes, money laundering, position abuse, and handling of criminal cases related to violations concerning wildlife.