HANOI, November 1, 2019 -- United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick is traveling to Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Indonesia from October 29 to November 12 and will attend the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Bangkok with other senior U.S. administration officials. 

Today, Deputy Administrator Glick and General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) Director-General Nguyen Van Can held discussions in Hanoi on U.S.-Vietnam cooperation on trade facilitation followed by a visit to Air Cargo Terminal of Noi Bai Airport to observe GDVC interdiction efforts on illegal transshipment. 

The Government of Vietnam (GVN) is making great efforts to coordinate internally as well as to identify ways to cooperate with the U.S. Government to address the issue of illegal transshipment, an ever-growing concern in U.S.-Vietnam trade. At the Terminal, GDVC gave Ms. Glick an overview of their control operations and inspection of goods suspected of origin-related fraud.

Recognizing the negative impact of illegal transshipment, and under the instructions of Ministry of Finance, GDVC has requested all customs departments, including air cargo, to enhance their import-export supervision, to avoid trade remedies from other partners and protect foreign investment in Vietnam.

Through the five-year Trade Facilitation Program, USAID is supporting the GVN to adopt and implement a risk management approach to customs and specialized inspection agencies, which will strengthen the implementation of the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement of which both Vietnam and the United States are members.

Over the course of the project, the USAID Trade Facilitation Program is collaborating with the GDVC, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to address origin fraud, and identify illegal transshipment and circumvention of trade remedies. The first workshop is planned for mid-November and will focus on exchanging experiences and analyzing relevant regulations and procedures in both the U.S. and Vietnam. 

For photos of the meeting and visit, click: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJ1KTiS. For more information on the USAID Trade Facilitation Program, visit: https://go.usa.gov/xpr2Q