On June 22, the USAID Trade Facilitation Program together with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) held an event in Hanoi to release a report titled “Business Satisfaction and Time Needed to Carry Out Administrative Procedures through the National Single Window.”  A second event was held in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) on June 26 to raise awareness of the report. The NSW is a one-stop shop for customs clearances and is expected to simplify import/export administrative procedures in accordance with international practices and standards. Over 3,100 enterprises participated in the survey, which focused on the 12 most frequently implemented procedures in the NSW system.

The report’s findings showed that eight of the 12 administrative procedures helped reduce business cost by more than 50 percent. Businesses also thought that it took less time to complete procedures using the NSW system, but noted that there was still room for improvement in simplifying a few administrative procedures. Recommendations from the report included upgrading the functionality of the NSW, improving the interconnectivity between the GDVC and line ministries to reduce processing time, and improving the efficiency and utility of the NSW. The NSW Report was well received by the ASEAN Secretariat as a good example of improving NSWs among ASEAN member countries and facilitating connectivity to the ASEAN Single Window.

So What? The NSW implementation survey helps engage the business sector in advocating for reforms, thus improving Customs to Business partnership and contributing to the Indo-Pacific vision of improved trade and competitiveness.