Specialized inspection is a customs clearance procedure in Vietnam that is implemented by line ministries on import and export of goods. A common example of a specialized inspection is food safety inspections by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. As specialized inspections involve multiple ministries, they can cause major delays in border clearances, costing traders time and money. On May 13-15, USAID’s Trade Facilitation Program and the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) organized a workshop in Hue to continue legislative reviews of these specialized inspection procedures. They reviewed 383 legal documents regulating specialized inspections and found that 18 of them required overlapping inspections by seven different ministries or agencies.  The findings of the workshop will be reported to the Ministry of Finance with a list of recommendations to the Government of Vietnam’s National Trade Facilitation Committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue.  

So What? Simplification of import-export inspection procedures will help reduce the time and cost of import/export delays and help Vietnam improve its business environment and economic competitiveness - a key objective of the Indo-Pacific strategy.