At a meeting with Acting USAID/Vietnam Mission Director Craig Hart, Vietnam’s Vice Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai said that the Government of Vietnam is committed to reducing shipments subject to specialized inspections to less than 10 percent (from the current 19 percent) and will incorporate all border procedures into the Vietnam National Single Window, a one stop shop for customs clearances, by 2020.  She acknowledged that this was a challenging task as it involves many line ministries, but that the Ministry Of Finance, assigned by Government of Vietnam as “commander in chief,” is committed to making it happen with USAID support.

USAID’s Trade Facilitation Program, a $22 million five-year project, aims to support Vietnam in adopting and implementing a risk–based approach to customs and specialized inspection agencies, which will strengthen the implementation of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of which both Vietnam and the United States are members. Specialized inspection is a customs clearance procedure that is implemented by line ministries (for example inspection of food safety by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) on import and export of goods.

At a meeting with Acting USAID/Vietnam Mission Director Craig Hart, Vietnam’s Vice Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai said that the Government of Vietnam is committed to reducing shipments subject to specialized inspections to less than 10 percent (from the current 19 percent) and will incorporate all border procedures into the Vietnam National Single Window, a one stop shop for customs clearances, by 2020.  She acknowledged that this was a challenging task as it involves many line ministries, but that the Ministry Of Finance, assigned by Government of Vietnam as “commander in chief,” is committed to making it happen with USAID support. 

So What? Reducing time and cost to trade will allow Vietnamese companies to participate in global supply chains, attract foreign investment, and facilitate U.S. exports to Vietnam.