BizCLIR

At least three sources set forth in exhaustive detail Vietnam’s current legal framework pertaining to international trade: 1) the Catalog of Legal Updates: Vietnam Trade Policy Regime, published and regularly updated by the U.S. Vietnam Trade Council’s Education Forum; 2) the European Union’s July 2005 Needs Assessment for Trade Related Assistance in the Period 2007-2012; and 3) the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s 2005 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (Vietnam chapter). Rather than reiterating the content of those documents, this chapter summarizes the most recent critical information pertaining to Vietnam’s legal framework for trade. It then focuses on the challenges facing Vietnam’s trade-related institutions (both implementing and supporting) and the social dynamics that relate directly to Vietnam’s ability to meet its trade-related goals.

Although Vietnam has nearly succeeded in constructing a legal framework that can support a dynamic environment for international trade, its many potential trading partners continue to look for stronger evidence of a genuine commitment to a level playing field between domestic companies and international firms. Evidence of this commitment is sought in such primary areas as subsidization of SOEs, customs, IPR, and overall compliance with existing trade agreements. Vietnam also faces the challenge of bolstering implementation of its own domestic trading laws, such as anti-dumping and countervailing duty provisions, and in developing stronger capacities generally with respect to regional and international trade.