Through the USAID Governance for Inclusive Growth Program and the USAID Trade Facilitation Program, USAID is supporting the General Department of Vietnam Customs and relevant ministries to effectively implement trade facilitation laws and regulations, and to simplify specialized inspection procedures for imports and exports. This support has contributed to the Prime Minister recently approving an action plan to expedite the implementation of the National Single Window and ASEAN Single Window, a one-stop shop for customs procedures, and to reform specialized inspection of imports and exports. The plan sets out goals and solutions with timelines to be implemented by ministries and agencies. It also specifies the administrative procedures under the National Single Window, lists legal and regulatory documents for specialized inspections that need revision, and lists the imports and exports subject to specialized inspections.

So What? Reducing customs clearance times will facilitate trade and investment and enhance competitiveness, while improving Vietnam’s Trading Across Borders indicator ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business report.