Foreign Trade Management Law 2017 (05/2017/QH14)

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

National Assembly promulgates the Law on Foreign Trade Management.

Chapter I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This law stipulates measures for managing foreign trade, developing foreign trade activities; resolving disputes regarding the application of foreign trade management measures.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. State management agencies.

2. Traders participating in foreign trade activities.

3. Other domestic and foreign organizations and individuals involved.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Law, the terms below are understood as follows:

1. Foreign trade activities are activities of buying and selling international goods conducted in the forms of export, import; temporary import, re-export; temporary export, re-import; transshipment; transit, and other activities related to international trade of goods under the provisions of law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

2. Technical measures are measures applied to exported and imported goods according to the provisions of the law on product and goods quality, technical standards and regulations, food safety, and measurement.

3. Quarantine measures include quarantine measures for animals and animal products, plant quarantine, and border health quarantine in accordance with the laws on plant protection and quarantine, veterinary, and prevention and control of infectious diseases.

4. A separate customs area is a geographically defined area within the territory of Vietnam established in accordance with the laws of Vietnam and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party; the buying and selling, and exchange of goods with the remaining territory and foreign countries is considered export and import activities.

5. A foreign trader without presence in Vietnam is a foreign trader who does not engage in investment or business activities in Vietnam in the forms stipulated in the laws on investment, trade, and enterprises; does not have a representative office or branch in Vietnam in accordance with the laws on commerce and enterprises.

Article 4. Principles of State Management of Foreign Trade

1. The State manages foreign trade in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

2. Ensure transparency, publicity, equality, simplification of administrative procedures; ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the State and traders from all economic sectors; promote the development of domestic production and exports, associated with import management.

3. Ensure full implementation of the principles of most-favored-nation treatment and national treatment in foreign trade activities according to Vietnamese law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Article 5. The Right to Freedom of Export and Import Business

1. The right to freedom of export and import business for Vietnamese traders who are not economic organizations with foreign investment capital is implemented as follows:

a) Traders are allowed to engage in export, import, and other related activities regardless of the registered business sectors, except for goods listed in the Catalog of Prohibited Export and Import Goods and goods temporarily suspended from export or import;

b) Traders, when exporting or importing goods under a license or conditions, must comply with the requirements of the license or conditions;

c) Branches of Vietnamese traders are allowed to carry out foreign trade activities under the authorization of the trader.

2. The right to conduct export and import business for Vietnamese traders who are foreign-invested economic organizations, branches of foreign traders in Vietnam is implemented as follows:

a) Exercise the right to export and the right to import in accordance with the provisions of this Law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade announces the list of goods, the roadmap for exercising export and import rights according to the provisions of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member;

b) Exercise the right to export by purchasing goods in Vietnam for export abroad in the form of being named on the export goods declaration to carry out and take responsibility for the procedures related to export. The right to export does not include the right to organize a network to collect goods in Vietnam for export;

c) Exercise the right to import goods from abroad into Vietnam for sale to traders who have the right to distribute those goods in Vietnam by appearing as the name on the import goods declaration to carry out and be responsible for the procedures related to import. The right to import does not include the right to organize or participate in the goods distribution system in Vietnam.

3. Foreign traders without a presence in Vietnam, other organizations, and individuals from countries or territories (hereinafter collectively referred to as countries) that are members of the World Trade Organization and countries that have bilateral agreements with Vietnam have the right to export, the right to import according to the provisions of Vietnamese law and international treaties of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

4. Exported and imported goods must be regulated and publicly detailed in accordance with the classification of goods in the List of Exported and Imported Goods of Vietnam as prescribed by customs law.

5. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on points b and c of Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 6. State management responsibilities for foreign trade

1. The Government shall unify the state management of foreign trade.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is the focal agency assisting the Government in implementing state management of foreign trade and has the following tasks and powers:

a) Submitting to competent state agencies for approval, issuing strategies, plans, and management policies, developing foreign trade activities, regional and global market development, and economic integration in each period; deciding on the implementation of certain management measures in accordance with the provisions of this Law;

b) Enact or submit to the competent state agency for issuance legal normative documents on foreign trade management;

c) Guide, disseminate, organize implementation, inspect, and evaluate legal normative documents and foreign trade management measures as prescribed by law;

d) Provide information related to foreign trade activities and foreign trade management as prescribed by the law on access to information;

đ) Manage the activities of foreign trade promotion organizations in Vietnam;

e) Direct professional activities for trade representatives of the agencies representing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam abroad (hereinafter referred to as trade representatives);

g) Assist the Government and the Prime Minister in participating in negotiations, signing, and coordinating the implementation of international treaties in the field of foreign trade; negotiate the opening of export markets, address barriers to exported goods within their authority, and monitor the overall implementation of international treaties by partners;

h) Advise and assist the Government in participating in the resolution of disputes regarding the application of foreign trade management measures;

i) Inspect, examine, handle complaints and denunciations, and deal with violations of the law on foreign trade management within their authority;

k) Implement technical measures within the scope of tasks and powers as prescribed by law.

3. Ministries and ministerial-level agencies, within the scope of their tasks and powers, have the following responsibilities:

a) Preside over and coordinate negotiations of international treaties and monitor the implementation of commitments by partners, handle barriers to exported goods within the scope of authority; manage foreign trade and develop foreign trade activities in accordance with the law; implement the reporting regime and share information related to foreign trade activities and foreign trade management;

b) The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies in drafting, submitting to the competent authority for promulgation, and guiding, inspecting the implementation of legal documents on taxes, fees, and charges for exported and imported goods; coordinate with Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in the development of laws and policies related to foreign trade management as prescribed by this Law and other relevant legal regulations; direct customs authorities to perform inspection, supervision, and statistics of exported and imported goods in accordance with customs law.

c) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead, in coordination with ministries, ministerial-level agencies, organizations, and relevant individuals, in proposing, developing, and organizing the implementation of measures for animal and plant quarantine, food safety, and measures to develop foreign trade activities within the scope of their duties and powers as prescribed by law;

d) The Ministry of Health shall take the lead, in coordination with ministries, ministerial-level agencies, organizations, and relevant individuals, in proposing, developing, and organizing the implementation of border health quarantine measures, food safety, and measures to develop foreign trade activities within the scope of their duties and powers as prescribed by law;

đ) The Ministry of Science and Technology shall take the lead, in coordination with ministries, ministerial-level agencies, organizations, and relevant individuals, in proposing, developing, and organizing the implementation of technical measures within the scope of their duties and powers as prescribed by law.

4. Provincial-level local authorities, within the scope of their duties and powers, have the following responsibilities:

a) Perform the state management functions on foreign trade at the local level in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the decentralization by the Government, the Prime Minister, the Ministries, and ministerial-level agencies;

b) Take the lead and coordinate with relevant organizations and individuals in proposing schemes and projects for the development of foreign trade activities at the local level;

c) Direct specialized agencies under their authority to inspect, examine, and handle violations of the law by agencies, organizations, and individuals in state management of foreign trade at the local level;

d) Maintain, update, and provide information for information systems on export, import management, and trade promotion;

d) Implement and direct specialized agencies under their management to carry out periodic and sudden reporting regimes serving state management of foreign trade at the local level.

Article 7. Acts prohibited in foreign trade management

1. Exploiting position and authority to violate the provisions of the law on foreign trade management, obstructing lawful export and import business activities, infringing on the freedom to conduct export and import business of traders as stipulated in Article 5 of this Law.

2. Applying foreign trade management measures beyond proper authority; or not following the correct procedures.

3. Illegally disclosing confidential information of traders.

4. Exporting or importing goods that are prohibited from export, prohibited from import, temporarily suspended from export, or temporarily suspended from import, except in cases specified in Clause 2, Article 10 and Clause 1, Article 14 of this Law; goods exported or imported under a license, under conditions but without a license, or not meeting sufficient conditions; goods that do not pass through the designated border gate; goods that do not go through customs procedures or commit fraud regarding quantity, weight, type, or origin of goods during customs procedures; goods that are required by law to have a seal but are not sealed.

5. Exporting or importing goods that violate the provisions in Clause 2 and Clause 3, Article 5 of this Law.

6. Fraud or forgery of documents related to foreign trade management activities.

Chapter II. ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES

Section 1. PROHIBITION OF EXPORT, PROHIBITION OF IMPORT, TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF EXPORT, TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF IMPORT

Subsection 1.

PROHIBITION OF EXPORT, PROHIBITION OF IMPORT

Article 8. Measures to Ban Export and Ban Import

1. Export ban is a measure decided by a competent state agency prohibiting goods from being moved from the domestic area into a special customs area or from leaving the territory of Vietnam.

2. Import ban is a measure decided by a competent state agency prohibiting goods from being moved from a special customs area into the domestic area or from abroad into the territory of Vietnam.

Article 9. Application of Export Ban and Import Ban Measures

1. Export ban measures are applied when goods fall under one of the following cases:

a) Related to national defense and security not yet permitted for export by a competent state agency;

b) To protect relics, antiques, and national treasures according to provisions of the law on cultural heritage;

c) According to international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

2. Apply import prohibition measures when goods fall under one of the following cases:

a) Related to defense and security without import permission from the competent state authority;

b) Harmful to the health and safety of consumers;

c) Adversely affecting social order, safety, social morality, and customs;

d) Harmful to the environment, biodiversity, posing a high risk of carrying harmful organisms, threatening food security, Vietnam's production and export sectors, and infringing intellectual property rights;

đ) According to international treaties of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Article 10. List of goods prohibited from export and import

1. The Government shall regulate the List of goods prohibited from export and import.

2. The Prime Minister decides to allow the export and import of goods specified in Clause 1 of this Article for special purposes, maintenance, analysis, testing, scientific research, healthcare, pharmaceutical production, national defense, and security protection.

3. The export and import of goods listed in the list of goods prohibited from export and prohibited from import for a separate customs area shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions in Section 8 of this Chapter.

Subsection 2

SUSPENSION OF EXPORT AND IMPORT

Article 11. Measures to suspend export and suspend import

1. Suspension of export is a measure decided by the competent state authority, whereby goods are not allowed to be brought from the domestic area into the separate customs area or taken out of the territory of Vietnam for a certain period of time.

2. Temporary suspension of import is a measure decided by the competent state agency that prohibits goods from being brought from a separate customs area into the domestic market or from abroad into the territory of Vietnam for a certain period of time.

Article 12. Application of measures of temporary suspension of export and temporary suspension of import

1. Measures of temporary suspension of export and temporary suspension of import are applied when goods fall into one of the following cases:

a) Goods fall under the case requiring emergency control measures in foreign trade management as stipulated in Chapter V of this Law;

b) Goods fall under the case prescribed in Article 9 of this Law but are not yet included in the list of goods prohibited from export or import.

2. Measures of temporary suspension of export and temporary suspension of import shall be abolished when the suspension period expires or the goods no longer fall into the cases prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 13. Authority to apply measures to temporarily suspend export and import

1. The Minister of Industry and Trade decides on the temporary suspension of export and temporary suspension of import based on the opinions or proposals of the Ministry, relevant ministerial-level agencies, and is responsible for his/her decision, except in cases where veterinary law, plant protection, and quarantine regulations provide otherwise.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall notify international economic organizations and relevant countries according to the agreed procedures when there is a decision to temporarily suspend the export or import of goods specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 14. Exceptional cases

1. The Minister of Industry and Trade decides to allow the export and import of goods that have already been subject to temporary export suspension or temporary import suspension for the purpose of special use, warranty, analysis, testing, scientific research, medical purposes, pharmaceutical production, national defense and security protection, based on consultation or proposals from the Ministry or relevant ministerial-level agencies, except in cases where veterinary law, plant protection, and quarantine laws provide otherwise.

2. The export and import of goods that have already been subject to temporary export or import suspension in separate customs areas shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions in Section 8 of this Chapter.

Section 2. EXPORT RESTRICTIONS, IMPORT RESTRICTIONS

Subsection 1.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 15. Measures to restrict export and restrict import

1. Export restriction is a measure decided and applied by competent state authorities to limit the quantity, volume, value of exported goods, the export border gate of goods, or the export rights of merchants.

2. Import restriction is a measure decided by the competent state agency to limit the quantity, volume, value of imported goods, import customs gates of goods, and the right to import goods of traders.

Article 16. Exceptions

1. The export and import of goods subject to export restrictions and import restrictions as stipulated in this Section not for commercial purposes shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws.

2. The export and import of goods subject to export restrictions and import restrictions as stipulated in this Section for special customs areas shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions in Section 8 of this Chapter.

Subsection 2

EXPORT QUOTAS, IMPORT QUOTAS

Article 17. Measures on export quotas and import quotas

1. Export quotas are measures decided and applied by competent state agencies to limit the quantity, volume, and value of goods exported out of the territory of Vietnam.

2. Import quotas are measures decided and applied by competent state agencies to limit the quantity, volume, and value of goods imported into the territory of Vietnam.

Article 18. Application of export quota and import quota measures

1. Export quota and import quota measures are applied when goods fall under one of the following cases:

a) According to international treaties of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member;

b) For goods ensuring macroeconomic balance and economic growth in each period;

c) When the importing country applies import quota measures to goods exported from Vietnam.

2. The application of export quotas and import quotas must ensure transparency regarding the quantity, volume, and value of goods; it must also be transparent and objective regarding the method of allocating export quotas and import quotas.

Article 19. Authority to apply export quotas and import quotas

1. The Minister of Industry and Trade shall preside over and coordinate with Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and other relevant agencies and organizations to decide on the application of export quotas and import quotas.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall announce the goods that need to be subject to export quotas and import quotas.

Subsection 3

CUSTOMS QUOTA

Article 20. Measures for export tariff quotas and import tariff quotas

1. Export tariff quotas are measures applied by competent state agencies to determine the quantity, volume, and value of exported goods at a specific tax rate.

2. Import tariff quotas are measures applied by competent state agencies to determine the quantity, volume, and value of imported goods at a preferential tax rate compared to the rate outside the quota.

Article 21. Application of export tariff quotas and import tariff quotas

1. The application of export tariff quotas and import tariff quotas must follow international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.

2. Import tariff quotas do not apply to the quantity, volume, and value of goods used for the production or processing of goods for export.

3. The application of export tariff quota measures and import tariff quota measures must ensure transparency regarding the quantity, volume, and value of goods; and be open, transparent, and objective in the method of allocating export tariff quotas and import tariff quotas.

Article 22. Authority to apply tariff quota measures

1. The Minister or the head of a ministerial-level agency decides the quota amount for each product under their management authority.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade announces the application of tariff quota measures and determines the method of quota allocation.

Section 4

DESIGNATION OF EXPORT AND IMPORT BORDER GATES

Article 23. Measures for designating export and import border gates

Designating export and import border gates is a measure applied by the competent state authority to decide the specific border gates through which certain goods may be exported or imported.

Article 24. Application of measures for designating export and import ports

1. The application of measures for designating export and import ports aims to manage and inspect the quality of exported and imported goods, prevent illegal transshipment, combat trade fraud, and protect the reputation of Vietnamese exported goods; it must be suitable with the material and technical infrastructure conditions of each port, ensuring national defense and security.

2. The application of measures for designating export and import ports for goods must ensure publicity, transparency, equality, and facilitate export and import activities.

3. Traders have the right to freely choose the export and import ports for their goods among the designated ports.

Article 25. Authority to apply measures for designating export and import ports

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall preside and coordinate with relevant state management agencies to decide and announce the goods, export and import ports of corresponding goods, and the implementation roadmap.

2. The decision to apply the measure of designating export and import ports must be publicly announced in the mass media at least 45 days before the effective date.

Section 5

DESIGNATION OF EXPORTERS AND IMPORTERS

Article 26. Measure of designating exporters and importers

The designation of exporters and importers is a measure applied by competent state agencies to determine the exporters and importers of certain specific goods.

Article 27. Application of the measure of designating exporters and importers

1. The measure of designating exporters and importers shall be applied when goods fall under one of the following cases:

a) According to international treaties of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member;

b) State monopoly goods in commercial activities as prescribed by the laws on commerce;

c) Goods that fall under the cases requiring the application of urgent control measures in foreign trade management as stipulated in Chapter V of this Law.

2. The application of measures to appoint exporters and importers must ensure publicity and transparency; ensure the rights and interests of the State and the legitimate rights and interests of businesses appointed to carry out foreign trade activities.

Article 28. Authority to apply measures to appoint exporters and importers

1. The Government shall stipulate the List of Goods and conditions for appointing exporters and importers; stipulate the Ministries and ministerial-level agencies responsible for managing goods on the List.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall assign designated traders for the export and import of goods within their management authority and shall be responsible for inspecting and checking the implementation of foreign trade activities by the designated traders.

Section 3. MANAGEMENT BASED ON LICENSES AND CONDITIONS FOR EXPORT AND IMPORT

Article 29. Measures for management based on export and import licenses; management based on export and import conditions

1. Management based on export and import licenses (hereinafter referred to as license-based management) is a measure applied by competent state agencies to grant export and import licenses or other forms with equivalent legal value to traders to carry out export and import activities of goods.

2. Management according to export and import conditions (hereinafter referred to as management by conditions) is a measure applied by competent state agencies to regulate the conditions regarding business entities, categories, quantities, volumes, facilities, technical equipment, and locations that traders must meet when conducting export and import activities, without the need to issue an export or import license.

Article 30. Application of management measures by license or by conditions

1. The measure of management by conditions is only applied in cases necessary for reasons of public order, social safety, social ethics, public health, customs and traditions, and environmental protection.

2. The application of management measures by license or by conditions must ensure transparency and openness; saving time and costs for both state management agencies and traders.

3. On the basis of compliance with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Article 31. Authority to apply management measures according to licenses and conditions

1. The Government shall stipulate the list of export and import goods subject to licensing and conditions; regulate the methods and scope of management of Ministries and ministerial-level agencies over the goods on the list; and stipulate the order and procedures for granting export and import licenses.

2. Ministries and ministerial-level agencies are responsible for publicly announcing the list of export and import goods subject to licensing and conditions as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article and announcing the export and import conditions for goods on the list.

Section 4. CERTIFICATION OF ORIGIN OF GOODS

Article 32. Measures for certifying the origin of goods

1. Documents certifying the origin of goods include:

a) Certificate of origin of goods in written form or other forms with equivalent legal value issued by competent authorities or organizations to traders;

b) Self-certification of origin of goods issued by traders in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2, Article 34 of this Law.

2. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on the origin of goods and the certification of origin of goods.

Article 33. Application of measures for certification of origin of goods

The measures for certification of origin of goods shall be applied in the following cases:

1. For export and import traders who wish to enjoy tariff preferences under international agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member;

2. Laws and regulations require that the export or import of goods must have a certificate of origin of goods.

3. Issued by the competent state agency upon the request of the trader or self-certified by the trader in cases not covered by Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

Article 34. Authority to apply measures for certifying the origin of goods

1. The Minister of Industry and Trade shall issue or authorize other organizations to issue certificates of origin for goods.

2. The Minister of Industry and Trade shall give written approval for traders to self-certify the origin of exported goods.

Article 35. Verification of the origin of goods

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible for inspecting and guiding the inspection of the issuance of certificates of origin and the self-certification of the origin of exported goods by traders.

2. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for directing customs authorities to verify the origin of exported and imported goods when performing customs procedures in accordance with customs laws.

Section 5. FREE CIRCULATION CERTIFICATION

Article 36. Certificate of Free Sale

1. A certificate of free sale is an official document issued by the competent state authority of the exporting country to the exporter of goods to certify that such goods are allowed for free circulation in the exporting country.

2. The certificate of free sale includes certificates that are specific in nature or those containing the full content of a certificate of free sale and other types of documents with similar content.

Article 37. Application of the free sale certification measure

The measure of free sale certification shall be applied in the following cases:

1. The law requires that goods must have a certificate of free sale;

2. At the request of the exporter, the importer of goods in cases not specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 38. Authority to apply the measure of free sale certification

The government stipulates the list of goods that must apply a certificate of free circulation; stipulates the authority and procedures, processes for issuing the certificate of free circulation.

Section 6. OTHER FOREIGN TRADE MANAGEMENT MEASURES

Subsection 1.

TEMPORARY IMPORT, RE-EXPORT, TEMPORARY EXPORT, RE-IMPORT, TRANSIT

Article 39. Temporary import and re-export business

1. The activity of traders purchasing goods from a country to bring into the territory of Vietnam or from a separate customs area into the domestic market and selling those goods to another country or separate customs area shall be conducted as follows:

a) Traders must have a temporary import and re-export business license for goods on the list of goods prohibited from export or import; goods temporarily suspended from export or import; goods not yet permitted for circulation or use in Vietnam; goods subject to management by export quotas, import quotas, tariff quotas, export or import licenses;

b) Traders engaged in temporary import and re-export business must meet the conditions prescribed for goods belonging to industries and trades with conditional temporary import and re-export business;

c) Traders engaged in temporary import and re-export business are only required to carry out procedures at the customs authority at the border gate for goods not specified in point a, point b of this clause and Article 40 of this Law.

2. Temporarily imported and re-exported business goods are only allowed to remain in the territory of Vietnam for a certain period of time.

3. Goods for temporary importation and re-export must undergo customs procedures upon import into the territory of Vietnam and are subject to inspection and supervision by the customs authority until they are re-exported from the territory of Vietnam.

4. The consumption of goods for temporary importation and re-export domestically must comply with the regulations on import management of this Law and other relevant legal regulations.

5. The government shall provide detailed regulations on this Article.

Article 40. Prohibition on temporary importation, re-export, transshipment business, suspension of temporary importation, re-export, transshipment business

1. The temporary importation, re-export, and transshipment business is prohibited for goods in the following cases:

a) Goods that are hazardous waste, scrap, or waste materials;

b) Goods that are subject to prohibition on temporary importation, re-export, and transshipment under international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member;

c) Goods that are used consumer goods with a risk of commercial fraud;

d) Goods that pose a high risk of causing environmental pollution, epidemics, affecting human health, and life.

2. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on the list of goods banned from temporary importation, re-export, and transit.

3. In cases to prevent environmental pollution, epidemics, impacts on human health and life, illegal transshipment, or the risk of trade fraud, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide and publicly announce goods temporarily suspended from temporary import, re-export, and transit.

Article 41. Other forms of temporary import and re-export.

1. Except for temporary import and re-export business as prescribed in Article 39 of this Law, traders are allowed to temporarily import into Vietnam goods that are not on the list of goods banned from export or import; goods that are not subject to suspension of export or import under contracts with foreign countries for the purposes of warranty, maintenance, lease, borrowing, or for other purposes for a certain period of time and then re-export the same goods out of Vietnam.

2. The procedures for temporary import and re-export are carried out as follows:

a) Traders must have a temporary import and re-export license for goods not yet permitted to circulate or be used in Vietnam; goods subject to management by export quotas, import quotas, tariff quotas, export or import licenses;

b) Traders are only required to carry out temporary import and re-export procedures at the customs authority for goods not specified in point a of this clause.

3. The period for temporary import and re-export shall be carried out according to the agreement between the trader and the partner and registered with the customs authority where the temporary import procedures are made.

4. Temporarily imported and re-exported goods, when consumed domestically, must comply with the regulations on the management of imported goods under this Law and other relevant legal provisions.

5. The government shall provide detailed regulations on this Article.

Article 42. Temporary export and re-import of goods

1. Traders are allowed to temporarily export and re-import goods to serve purposes of warranty, maintenance, repair, production, construction, renting, borrowing, display, exhibition, or for other purposes according to a contract with foreign parties.

2. Procedures for temporary export and re-import are carried out as follows:

a) Merchants must have a temporary export and re-import permit for goods listed in the category of prohibited export and import goods; goods temporarily suspended from export and temporarily suspended from import; goods subject to management by measures such as export quotas, import quotas, tariff quotas, export licenses, and import licenses;

b) Merchants only need to carry out temporary export and re-import procedures at the customs authority for goods that are not stipulated in point a of this clause.

3. The duration of temporary export and re-import shall be implemented according to the agreement between the merchant and the partner and registered with the customs authority where the temporary export procedures are carried out.

4. Temporarily exported and re-imported goods when consumed abroad must comply with the provisions on goods export management of this Law and other provisions of the relevant laws.

5. The government shall provide detailed regulations on this Article.

Article 43. Transshipment of goods

1. Traders conducting transshipment of goods listed in the Catalogue of goods prohibited from export or import; goods temporarily suspended from export or import; goods not yet permitted to circulate or be used in Vietnam; goods subject to management by export quota, import quota, tariff quota, export or import licenses must have a transshipment permit, except in cases where the transshipment does not go through a Vietnamese border gate.

2. Traders only need to carry out transshipment procedures at the customs authority of the border gate for goods not specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Goods transshipped through Vietnamese border gates are subject to supervision by the customs authorities until they are actually exported out of the territory of Vietnam.

4. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on this Article.

Subsection 2

GOODS IN TRANSIT

Article 44. Permission for goods in transit

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the lead, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense, to submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision to allow the transit of goods that are weapons, explosives, explosive precursors, and supporting tools.

2. The Minister of Industry and Trade shall grant transit permits for goods on the list of goods prohibited from export or import; goods temporarily suspended from export or import; goods prohibited from trading under the provisions of law.

3. Goods not specified in clauses 1 and 2 of this Article may transit through the territory of Vietnam and are only required to complete customs procedures at the first entry checkpoint and the last exit checkpoint in accordance with customs law.

4. The Government shall prescribe the order and procedures for granting transit permits for goods specified in clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

Article 45. Principles of management of goods transit activities

1. Goods in transit at export must be the entirety of the imported goods.

2. The organization or foreign individual performing cargo transit services or personally carrying out cargo transit through the territory of Vietnam, or hiring foreign traders to perform cargo transit through the territory of Vietnam, shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of commercial law, international treaties of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member, and must comply with Vietnamese laws on exit, entry, traffic, and transport.

3. Air cargo transit shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of international aviation treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

4. Goods in transit through the territory of Vietnam must be under the supervision of the customs authority throughout the entire transit period, entering and leaving according to the designated border gate.

5. Transit goods that are consumed domestically must comply with the regulations on the management of export and import of goods under this Law and other relevant legal regulations.

Article 46. Border gates and transit routes for goods

1. Based on international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member, the Minister of Transport shall regulate the routes on which transit goods are transported.

2. Goods may only transit through international border gates and along the routes on the territory of Vietnam as specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. During the transit of goods, any change in the route of transit goods must be approved by the Minister of Transport.

Article 47. Transit time

1. The maximum transit time through Vietnamese territory is 30 days from the date of completing customs procedures at the entry checkpoint, except in cases of extension; in cases where goods are stored in Vietnam or are damaged, lost; or the transport vehicle carrying the transit goods is damaged during transit.

2. For goods that are stored in Vietnam or damaged, lost, or if the transport vehicle carrying the transit goods is damaged during the transit period and additional time is needed for storage, repair of damage, or compensation for loss, the transit time shall be extended corresponding to the time required to carry out these tasks and must be approved by the customs authority where the transit procedures are performed; in the case of extending the transit time for transit goods stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 44 of this Law, permission must be granted by the Minister of Industry and Trade.

3. During the storage period and the handling of damage or loss as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article, goods and transport means carrying transit cargo must still be under the supervision of the customs authority.

Subsection 3

AGENTS OF GOODS TRADING FOR FOREIGN MERCHANTS

Article 48. Management of activities of agents trading goods for foreign merchants

1. Merchants are allowed to act as legal agents trading goods for foreign merchants, except for goods listed in the Catalog of prohibited export goods, prohibited import goods, or goods temporarily suspended from import.

2. In cases where a trader chooses to pay agency sales commissions in cash, it shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on foreign exchange. In cases where a trader chooses to pay agency sales commissions in goods, such goods must not be on the list of prohibited export or import goods, nor be goods temporarily suspended from export or import. In cases where the payment of agency sales commissions is made in goods that require export or import licenses, permission must be obtained from the competent state authority.

3. Agents buying and selling goods for foreign traders must carry out export and import procedures, fulfill tax obligations and other financial obligations in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 49. Management of the activity of hiring foreign traders as agents to buy and sell goods abroad

Merchants are allowed to hire foreign merchants as agents to buy and sell goods abroad for goods that are not on the list of prohibited export or import goods or goods whose export is temporarily suspended.

Section 4

ENTRUSTMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF EXPORT AND IMPORT ENTRUSTMENT

Article 50. Management of activities of entrusting and accepting entrusted export and import of goods

1. Merchants can entrust the export or import of goods that are not on the list of prohibited export or import goods or are not goods temporarily suspended from export or import.

2. For goods exported or imported under a license or conditions, the entrusting party or the entrusted party must have a license and meet the export or import conditions before signing the entrustment contract, except as otherwise provided by law.

3. In the case where the principal is not a trader, based on a contract signed in accordance with the provisions of the law, the principal is authorized to export and import goods, except for goods on the List of goods prohibited from export, prohibited from import, or goods temporarily suspended from export or import.

Section 5

PROCESSING GOODS FOR FOREIGN TRADERS AND PLACING ORDERS FOR PROCESSING GOODS ABROAD

Article 51. Management of receiving processing goods for foreign traders

1. Traders are allowed to legally receive processing orders for goods from foreign traders, except for goods on the List of goods prohibited from export, prohibited from import, or goods temporarily suspended from export or import.

2. For export and import goods subject to licensing, traders may only sign a processing contract after being granted a license by the Minister of Industry and Trade in the order and procedures prescribed by the Government.

3. The Prime Minister decides to allow merchants to carry out the processing of goods that are on the list of goods prohibited from export, prohibited from import, temporarily suspended from export, or temporarily suspended from import for foreign merchants for consumption abroad.

Article 52. Management of outsourcing goods processing abroad

1. Merchants are allowed to outsource the processing of legally circulated goods abroad.

2. The export of machinery, equipment, raw materials, auxiliary materials, and supplies for processing, and the import of processed products shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations on export and import management stipulated in this Law and other relevant legal provisions.

3. Merchants shall fulfill their tax obligations for the import of processed products for domestic consumption in accordance with tax laws.

Section 7. FOREIGN TRADE ACTIVITIES WITH COUNTRIES SHARING BORDERS

Article 53. Management of foreign trade with countries sharing borders

1. Foreign trade activities with countries sharing a border with Vietnam in the border area (hereinafter referred to as border trade activities) are subject to the following specific management measures:

a) Regulations on goods, quantity of goods, duty-free quotas, locations and methods for the buying and selling, exchange of goods by border residents;

b) Regulations on goods, locations, methods, and supporting activities for the buying and selling, exchange of goods by traders as agreed in international treaties between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the neighboring country.

2. The principles in managing border trade activities include:

a) The State strengthens support and promotes the autonomy and accountability of local authorities at all levels in border areas in organizing and managing border trade activities to facilitate the buying, selling, and exchange of goods by merchants and border residents;

b) People, means of transport, and goods involved in border trade activities are subject to inspection, examination, and control by competent state agencies in accordance with the provisions of law;

c) Timely prevent and strictly handle acts violating trade laws and other relevant legal regulations.

3. Border trade activities enjoy certain special management policies regarding locality, goods, fees, charges, and payment methods as prescribed by law.

4. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on this Article.

Article 54. The operational mechanism for managing border trade activities at land border gates

1. Border trade activities are conducted through international border gates and main border gates. In cases where border trade activities are carried out through other border gates or places opened for border crossing, conditions must be ensured, and activities must be under the supervision and management of the competent state authorities in accordance with the provisions of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member and relevant laws.

2. The provincial-level People's Committee where the border is located shall decide and announce the List of other border gates and places opened for border crossing that are permitted to carry out cross-border trade activities as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article. In case goods for export or import through the above areas are obstructed, the provincial-level People's Committee where the border is located, based on the infrastructure and technical conditions of that area, may apply measures to prioritize the export of perishable food and agricultural products or temporarily suspend the export or import of goods until the obstruction is cleared.

3. The management of export and import activities of goods at land border gates must be conducted in a unified, synchronized manner, with close coordination and simplified administrative procedures.

4. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on this Article.

Article 55. Management and development policies for trade support activities in the land border gate area.

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and local governments at all levels are responsible for managing and developing the following trade support activities in the border gate areas on land:

(a) Activities supporting the implementation of administrative procedures according to the provisions of relevant laws;

(b) Activities supporting the enhancement of trade logistics capacity, including: delivery, transportation of goods, processing, packaging, boxing of goods, loading and unloading of goods, translation, security, and other activities to enhance trade logistics capacity;

(c) Financial and monetary activities, including: currency exchange, money transfer, and payment;

(d) Activities supporting the improvement of access to and penetration of markets in neighboring countries; consulting, brokerage, sales agency, entrusted export, import, transit, advertising, trade fairs, and exhibitions;

d) Support activities related to technical infrastructure include: roads, electricity, water, border markets, product showcase stores, warehouses, yards, electronic weighing stations, fire prevention and fighting;

e) Other trade support activities in the border gate area according to the provisions of the law.

2. The government has a policy to encourage traders of all economic sectors to invest, develop, and organize the implementation of trade support activities in the border gate areas specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Section 8. MANAGEMENT OF GOODS IN SPECIAL CUSTOMS AREAS

Article 56. Application of export goods management measures to special customs areas

1. Apply foreign trade management measures to goods moved from special customs areas abroad in the same way as goods moved from the domestic area abroad.

2. Foreign trade management measures are not applied to goods moved from the domestic area into the special customs area.

3. Export goods management measures are applied only once to special customs areas.

4. Goods specified in Clause 2 of this Article must be monitored by the customs authorities in accordance with the provisions of customs law and other relevant legal regulations.

Article 57. Application of import management measures to separate customs areas

1. Apply foreign trade management measures to goods brought from separate customs areas into the domestic territory in the same way as goods brought from abroad into the territory of Vietnam.

2. Do not apply foreign trade management measures, except for import bans, temporary import suspensions, and quarantine measures for goods brought from abroad into separate customs areas.

3. Apply import management measures to separate customs areas only once.

4. Goods specified in Clause 2 of this Article must be monitored by the customs authorities in accordance with the provisions of customs law and other relevant legal regulations.

Article 58. Application of management measures for the sale of goods between separate customs areas

1. Do not apply foreign trade management measures to goods traded or transported between separate customs areas within the territory of Vietnam.

2. The transportation of goods between separate customs areas must be under the supervision of the customs authority in accordance with the provisions of the law on customs and other relevant legal regulations.

Article 59. Exceptional Cases

In necessary cases to prevent trade fraud and illegal transshipment, the Prime Minister allows the application or non-application of one or several foreign trade management measures for goods specified in Articles 56, 57, and 58 of this Law.

Chapter III. TECHNICAL MEASURES, QUARANTINE

Section 1. APPLICATION OF TECHNICAL MEASURES, QUARANTINE

Article 60. Objectives and principles of applying technical measures and quarantine

1. The application of technical measures and quarantine aims to meet requirements for goods quality; protect human health safety; protect animals, plants, the ecological environment, and biodiversity; prevent and control infectious diseases; and ensure national security and interests.

2. The application of technical measures and quarantine must ensure the following principles:

a) Transparency, openness, non-discrimination, and avoiding unnecessary barriers to foreign trade activities, especially for exported goods;

b) Applying risk management methods where conditions allow, ensuring management requirements and compliance with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member;

c) Ensuring other principles according to the provisions of the law on product and goods quality, standards and technical regulations, food safety, metrology, plant and animal protection and quarantine, and prevention and control of infectious diseases.

Article 61. Application of technical measures to exported and imported goods

1. Exported and imported goods must have their applicable standards publicly disclosed and be labeled in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. Imported goods that are listed as products or goods with potential safety risks must apply management measures according to the corresponding technical regulations and management measures in accordance with the law on product and goods quality, standards, and technical regulations.

3. Imported goods that are processed, pre-packaged foods; food additives; food processing aids; tools and materials for packaging or containing food that already have technical regulations must comply with the provisions specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

4. Imported goods that are food, food additives, food processing aids, food packaging tools and materials that do not yet have technical standards must be announced for compliance with food safety regulations and registered for a declaration of compliance with food safety regulations with the competent state authority.

5. Exported or imported goods that are functional foods, micronutrient-fortified foods, genetically modified foods, or irradiated foods must have a certificate of free sale or a health certificate according to legal regulations.

6. Imported goods that are measuring instruments used to quantify goods and services in trade, payment, ensuring safety, protecting public health, protecting the environment, in inspection, testing, forensic examination, and other public service activities must be controlled in accordance with legal regulations on measurement.

7. The order and procedures for applying technical measures to export and import goods shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on product and goods quality, standards and technical regulations, food safety, and metrology.

Article 62. Application of animal and animal product quarantine measures

1. Goods that are animals or animal products subject to quarantine before export, import, temporary import, re-export, temporary export, re-import, border transfer, storage in bonded warehouses, or transit through the territory of Vietnam must be quarantined in accordance with veterinary law.

2. The content, order, and procedures for quarantining animals and animal products before export, import, temporary import, re-export, temporary export, re-import, border transfer, storage in bonded warehouses, or transit through the territory of Vietnam shall be carried out in accordance with veterinary law.

Article 63. Application of plant quarantine measures

1. Goods that are subject to plant quarantine before export, import, temporary import, re-export, temporary export, re-import, transfer of border gate, deposit in bonded warehouse, or transit through the territory of Vietnam must be quarantined in accordance with the laws on plant protection and quarantine.

2. Goods that are plant varieties not listed in the list of plant varieties permitted for production and business in Vietnam, and beneficial organisms used in plant protection in Vietnam, must be quarantined after import at the plant quarantine isolation area.

3. The content, order, and procedures for plant quarantine for export, import, temporary import, re-export, temporary export, re-import, transfer of border gate, deposit in bonded warehouse, and transit through the territory of Vietnam shall be conducted in accordance with the laws on plant protection and quarantine.

Article 64. Application of border medical quarantine measures

1. Goods subject to border medical quarantine before export, import, or transit through Vietnamese territory must be quarantined in accordance with the law on prevention and control of infectious diseases.

2. The content, order, and procedures of border medical quarantine are implemented in accordance with the law on prevention and control of infectious diseases.

Section 2. APPLICATION OF INSPECTION MEASURES FOR EXPORTED AND IMPORTED GOODS

Article 65. Goods subject to inspection upon export and import

1. Goods subject to inspection upon export and import include:

a) Goods required to apply technical measures and quarantine as stipulated in Articles 61, 62, 63, and 64 of this Law;

b) Goods that have potential to cause safety risks or goods that may cause safety risks as informed by warnings from international, regional, or foreign organizations;

c) Goods that the competent authority detects as non-compliant and must be subjected to increased inspection according to the provisions of the law.

2. Goods specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be inspected according to the principles stipulated in Clause 2, Article 60 of this Law and carried out by agencies or organizations designated by the competent state authority.

3. The Minister or the head of a ministerial-level agency, within the scope of their duties and powers, shall issue the List of goods that are subject to inspection as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 66. Inspection Agencies and Organizations

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial-level People's Committees are responsible for organizing inspections according to the assigned sector and locality, and delegated according to the provisions of law.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial-level People's Committees specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall publicly announce the names and addresses of specialized inspection agencies under the sector and locality management.

3. The procedures and processes for inspection must be carried out by the agency or organization conducting the inspection in a public and transparent manner.

Chapter IV. TRADE DEFENSE MEASURES

Section 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 67. Trade defense measures

1. Trade defense measures include anti-dumping measures, countervailing measures, and safeguard measures decided to be applied by the Minister of Industry and Trade to imported goods into Vietnam in specific cases.

2. The government shall stipulate in detail the method for determining the damage to domestic production sectors; preventing evasion of trade remedy measures; the grounds for conducting, procedures, processes, timelines, contents, and grounds for terminating trade remedy investigations (hereinafter referred to as investigations); applying and reviewing trade remedy measures; determining subsidies and anti-subsidy measures; responsibilities for coordination among relevant agencies during the investigation process; handling trade remedy measures applied to exports from Vietnam.

3. The Minister of Industry and Trade shall stipulate in detail the parties concerned in investigations, activities for providing, collecting information and documents, and confidentiality of information and documents; spoken and written language during the investigation process; management of imported goods subject to investigation and application of trade remedy measures; cases exempted from the application of trade remedy measures.

Article 68. Principles for the Application of Trade Defense Measures

1. Applied within the necessary, reasonable, and time-limited scope to protect, prevent, or limit damage to domestic production sectors.

2. Can only be applied after conducting a transparent and fair investigation, in accordance with legal regulations, and must be based on the investigation's conclusions.

3. Publicly announce decisions regarding investigations and the application of trade defense measures.

4. Do not collect the tax difference if the official trade defense duty rate is higher than the provisional trade defense duty rate.

5. Refund the tax difference if the official trade defense duty rate is lower than the provisional trade defense duty rate.

6. In cases where the Minister of Industry and Trade decides not to apply official trade defense measures, the provisional trade defense duties already collected or the provisional trade defense duty payment guarantees must be refunded.

Article 69. Injury to the domestic industry

1. The domestic industry is the collection of producers of like goods within the territory of Vietnam or their representatives who account for a major proportion of the total production of such goods produced domestically. In cases where a domestic producer directly imports the goods under investigation or has a relationship with the exporters or importers of the goods under investigation, that producer may not be considered a domestic producer.

Like goods are goods that possess all the characteristics of the goods under investigation. In cases where there are no such goods, like goods are goods that share many fundamental characteristics with the goods under investigation.

2. Injury to the domestic industry is determined as follows:

a) Significant injury to the domestic industry is a substantial decline or restraint in the growth of the production or business activities of the domestic industry;

b) The threat of significant injury to the domestic industry is the imminent, clear, and demonstrable ability of a risk causing significant injury to the domestic industry;

c) Preventing the establishment of the domestic industry is a situation leading to difficulties in establishing a domestic industry;

d) Serious injury to the domestic industry is an overall decline in the production and business activities of the domestic industry;

e) The threat of serious injury to the domestic industry is the imminent, clear, and demonstrable ability of a risk causing serious injury to the domestic industry.

Article 70. Sequence and procedures for investigating trade remedy cases

1. Organizations and individuals representing the domestic production sector have the right to submit a request for the application of trade remedy measures in cases where imported goods are found to be dumped, subsidized, or imported in excess, causing damage to the domestic production sector.

2. Within 45 days from the date of notification of a valid application, based on the recommendation of the trade remedy investigation agency (hereinafter referred to as the Investigation Agency), the Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide whether to conduct an investigation or not. In special cases, the issuance of the decision may be extended once, but not exceeding 30 days.

3. The investigation period is prescribed as follows:

a) The investigation for applying anti-dumping and countervailing measures shall be concluded within 12 months from the date of the investigation decision. In special cases, the Minister of Industry and Trade has the authority to extend the investigation period, but the total investigation period shall not exceed 18 months;

b) The investigation for applying safeguard measures shall be concluded within 9 months from the date of the investigation decision. In special cases, the Minister of Industry and Trade has the authority to extend the investigation period, but the total investigation period shall not exceed 12 months.

4. Consultations during the investigation process shall be conducted as follows:

a) During the investigation process, the parties involved in the investigation case have the right to present in writing to the investigating authority information and opinions related to the investigation case;

b) The investigative agency is responsible for providing consultation opportunities to relevant parties upon written request as prescribed in point a of this clause;

c) Before announcing the final investigation conclusion, the investigative agency may organize public consultations to allow relevant parties to present information and opinions related to the investigation case.

5. Notification responsibilities are stipulated as follows:

a) No later than 15 days from the date the Minister of Industry and Trade issues a decision to conduct anti-dumping or anti-subsidy investigations, the investigative agency is responsible for notifying the government of the country where the related organization or individual producer/exporter is located, as well as other relevant parties, about the investigation;

b) The investigative agency is responsible for publicly notifying relevant parties in the investigation case of the preliminary investigation conclusion, the final investigation conclusion, the acceptance of commitments, as well as the termination of the investigation;

c) The investigating agency shall perform other notification obligations as prescribed by international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Article 71. Termination of trade defense investigations

The Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide to terminate the investigation in the following cases:

1. Organizations or individuals who have filed a request for the application of trade defense measures voluntarily withdraw their dossiers;

2. The preliminary conclusion of the investigating agency determines that there is no damage or no threat of causing damage to the domestic production sector or does not prevent the formation of the domestic production sector;

3. The final conclusion of the investigating agency includes one of the following contents:

a) The goods under investigation imported into the territory of Vietnam are not dumped, not subsidized, or not excessively imported;

b) There is no damage to the domestic production sector as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 69 of this Law;

c) There is no causal relationship between the importation of dumped, subsidized, or over-imported goods and the damage, threat of damage caused to the domestic industry, or the obstruction of the establishment of the domestic industry;

4. The investigating agency reaches an agreement with the competent authority of the country whose goods are alleged to be subsidized imports into the territory of Vietnam regarding the removal of subsidies on goods imported into the territory of Vietnam.

Article 72. Anti-circumvention of trade defense measures

1. Circumvention of trade remedy measures is the act of attempting to evade part or all of the obligations to implement trade remedy measures in effect on goods subject to these measures when imported into the territory of Vietnam.

2. Trade remedy measures in effect may be extended in the case that the investigating authority determines there is an act of circumvention of trade remedy measures.

3. The investigating authority may conduct an investigation into acts of circumvention of trade remedy measures based on requests from domestic industry representatives or information obtained by the investigating authority.

4. Based on the conclusions of the investigating authority, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall issue a decision on the application of anti-circumvention measures on imported goods or components of goods from the countries under investigation.

Article 73. Investigating authority

1. The investigative agency established by the Government under the organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

2. The investigative agency has the following duties and powers:

a) Receive dossiers from organizations and individuals requesting investigation for the application of trade defense measures and notify the eligibility of the dossiers or request organizations and individuals to supplement dossiers and documents;

b) Recommend the Minister of Industry and Trade to issue a decision to investigate or not to investigate the application of trade defense measures;

c) Organize the investigation of the application of trade defense measures; investigate acts of avoiding trade defense measures;

d) Recommend the Minister of Industry and Trade to issue a decision on applying trade defense measures; applying measures against evasion of trade defense measures; changing trade defense measures based on investigation conclusions and review conclusions;

e) Conduct a review of trade defense measures;

e) Recommend to the Minister of Industry and Trade to terminate investigations and cease the application of trade remedy measures;

g) Take the lead in participating in dispute resolution in bilateral and multilateral mechanisms regarding the investigation and application of trade remedy measures on goods imported into Vietnam and Vietnamese export goods under investigation for trade remedy measures by foreign countries;

h) Take the lead in supporting and responding to cases where foreign countries investigate and apply trade remedy measures on Vietnamese export goods;

i) Take the lead in developing plans and negotiating compensation in cases of safeguard measures on goods imported into the territory of Vietnam;

k) Inspect and check the implementation of trade remedy measures by organizations and individuals involved in the investigation and application of trade remedy measures;

l) Other tasks and powers as prescribed by law.

3. The head of the Investigation Agency is appointed, dismissed, and removed by the Minister of Industry and Trade; responsible for organizing and directing the Investigation Agency to perform the tasks and exercise the powers prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

4. The Minister of Industry and Trade shall stipulate in detail the tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Investigation Agency.

Article 74. Related parties in the investigation case

1. Related parties in the investigation case include:

a) Organizations and individuals abroad that produce or export goods into the territory of Vietnam under investigation;

b) Organizations and individuals that import goods under investigation;

c) Foreign associations with a majority of members being organizations or individuals producing or exporting the goods under investigation;

d) The government and competent authorities of the exporting country of the goods under investigation;

đ) Organizations or individuals with filed requests for the application of trade defense measures;

e) Domestic organizations or individuals producing similar goods;

g) Domestic associations with a majority of members being organizations or individuals producing similar goods;

h) Other organizations or individuals with legal rights and interests related to the investigation case or who may assist in the investigation process or represent consumer rights protection.

2. Organizations and individuals must register and be approved by the Investigating Authority to become related parties in the investigation case.

3. Parties involved in the investigation case shall have access to information and documents that other parties involved have provided to the Investigating Authority, except for information and documents specified in Clause 2, Article 75 of this Law.

Article 75. Provision, collection of information and documents, and confidentiality during the investigation of trade remedy cases

1. Parties involved in the investigation case are responsible for providing necessary information and documents as requested by the Investigating Authority.

2. During the investigation, the Investigating Authority and persons authorized to access information and documents related to the case are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of information and documents as requested by the party providing such information and documents.

3. When necessary, the investigative agency has the right to carry out expert evaluations or inspections to verify the authenticity of information and documents provided by relevant parties, or to collect additional information and documents necessary to resolve the trade remedy case. The investigative agency has the right to conduct on-site investigations, including investigations abroad.

4. In cases where the investigated party refuses to allow the investigative agency access or refuses to provide information and documents that significantly affect the investigation, the investigative agency has the right to use the information and documents provided by relevant parties, information and documents collected by the investigative agency itself, or available information and documents to conclude the investigation based on those materials.

Article 76. Handling cases where Vietnamese exported goods are investigated and trade remedy measures are applied.

1. When Vietnamese traders are investigated by an importing country for the application of trade defense measures, based on the proposal of industry or professional associations and the traders involved, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the lead, in coordination with other ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and competent state management agencies, to carry out the following assistance activities for traders within the scope of their duties and powers:

a) Provide information related to the case;

b) Communicate with the importing country that is investigating and applying trade defense measures on Vietnamese export goods;

c) Initiate legal action against the importing country when violations of relevant international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party are detected;

d) Other assistance activities as provided by law.

2. In the case where Vietnamese traders are investigated by the importing country for applying anti-subsidy measures, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the lead, in coordination with relevant Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and Provincial People's Committees, to develop a plan to cooperate with the foreign investigating authorities in accordance with the provisions of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

3. In the case where Vietnamese traders are investigated by the importing country for applying safeguard measures, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the lead, in coordination with relevant Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, organizations, and individuals, to develop a plan to request compensation or retaliation in accordance with the provisions of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Section 2. ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES FOR IMPORTED GOODS INTO VIETNAM

Article 77. Anti-dumping measures

1. Anti-dumping measures on goods imported into Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as anti-dumping measures) are measures applied in cases where goods are determined to be dumped when imported into Vietnam, causing significant harm or threatening to cause significant harm to the domestic industry or obstructing the establishment of the domestic industry.

2. Goods are determined to be dumped when imported into Vietnam at a price lower than the normal value, which is the comparable price of similar goods sold in the exporting country or in a third country under normal commercial conditions, or the price level determined by the investigating authority using a self-calculation method.

3. Anti-dumping measures include:

a) Applying anti-dumping duties;

b) Commitment regarding anti-dumping exclusion measures of organizations and individuals producing or exporting goods subject to anti-dumping measures with the Vietnamese investigating authority or with domestic producers if approved by the investigating authority.

Article 78. Conditions for applying anti-dumping measures

1. Anti-dumping measures shall be applied to imported goods when the following conditions are fully met:

a) Imported goods into Vietnam are sold at dumping with a specifically determined dumping margin, except in the case specified in clause 2 of this Article;

b) The domestic production industry suffers significant damage or is threatened with significant damage or hindered in the formation of a domestic production industry;

c) There is a causal relationship between the importation of dumped goods stipulated in point a of this clause and the damage to the domestic production industry stipulated in point b of this clause.

2. Anti-dumping measures shall not be applied to imported goods with a dumping margin not exceeding 2% of the export price of the goods to Vietnam.

3. In the case of imported goods originating from a country with a volume or quantity not exceeding 3% of the total volume or quantity of like goods imported into Vietnam, and the total volume or quantity of goods originating from countries meeting the above condition does not exceed 7% of the total volume or quantity of like goods imported into Vietnam, these countries shall be excluded from the scope of application of anti-dumping measures.

Article 79. Basis for conducting investigations for the application of anti-dumping measures

1. The investigation into the application of anti-dumping measures is conducted when there is a petition for the application of anti-dumping measures from an organization or individual representing the domestic industry.

2. An organization or individual submitting a petition for the application of anti-dumping measures is considered to represent the domestic industry when the following conditions are met:

a) The total volume or quantity of like goods produced by domestic producers who submit the petition and domestic producers who support the petition for the application of anti-dumping measures must be greater than the total volume or quantity of like goods produced by domestic producers who oppose the petition for the application of anti-dumping measures;

b) The total volume or quantity of like goods produced by domestic producers who submit the application and domestic producers supporting the request for the imposition of anti-dumping measures account for at least 25% of the total volume or quantity of like goods produced by the domestic industry.

3. The Minister of Industry and Trade is responsible for deciding on the investigation when there is clear evidence that imported goods sold at dumping prices have caused significant damage or threaten to cause significant damage to the domestic industry, or impede the establishment of a domestic industry.

Article 80. Content of investigation for the application of anti-dumping measures

1. Determine the dumped imported goods into Vietnam and the dumping margin, including:

a) Determining the normal value;

b) Determining the export price;

c) Conduct a fair comparison between the normal value and the export price and determine the specific margin of dumping of the goods under investigation for each organization or individual producing or exporting the goods under investigation (hereinafter referred to as the producer/exporter).

2. Determine significant injury or the threat of causing significant injury to the domestic industry or the prevention of the establishment of the domestic industry.

3. Determine the causal link between the importation of dumped goods and the significant injury or threat of causing significant injury to the domestic industry or the prevention of the establishment of the domestic industry.

4. Determine the impact of anti-dumping measures on socio-economic aspects.

Article 81. Application of anti-dumping measures

1. The application of provisional anti-dumping duties decided by the Minister of Industry and Trade is based on the preliminary conclusions of the Investigating Authority. The provisional anti-dumping duty rate shall not exceed the dumping margin in the preliminary conclusion.

The duration of applying provisional anti-dumping duties shall not exceed 120 days from the date the decision to apply provisional anti-dumping duties takes effect. Upon request from an organization or individual exporting like goods to Vietnam, the Minister of Industry and Trade may extend the application of provisional anti-dumping duties, but not exceeding 60 days.

2. The application of commitment measures is carried out as follows:

a) After the preliminary conclusion and before the investigation is completed, the producer or exporter of the goods under investigation may make a commitment to the Investigating Authority regarding voluntarily adjusting the selling price or voluntarily limiting the volume or quantity of the goods under investigation exported to Vietnam;

b) The investigating agency may accept, reject, or propose adjustments to the commitment content based on the opinions of organizations or individuals representing the domestic manufacturing sector.

3. The application of anti-dumping duties is carried out as follows:

a) In the case that the commitment specified in Clause 2 of this Article is not achieved, after the investigation is concluded, the investigating agency shall announce the final conclusions on the investigation contents as provided in Article 80 of this Law. The final conclusions of the investigating agency and the main grounds for issuing the final conclusions must be notified in an appropriate manner to the relevant parties in the investigated case;

b) Based on the final conclusions of the investigating agency, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide whether to apply anti-dumping duties or not;

c) The anti-dumping duty rate must not exceed the dumping margin stated in the final conclusions;

d) The duration of applying anti-dumping duties shall not exceed 5 years from the date the decision to apply anti-dumping duties takes effect, except in cases extended according to the provisions in Clause 2, Article 82 of this Law.

4. The retroactive application of anti-dumping duties shall be carried out as follows:

a) In the case where the final conclusion of the investigating authority determines there is significant damage or a threat of causing significant damage to the domestic industry, the Minister of Industry and Trade may decide to apply anti-dumping duties retroactively;

b) The anti-dumping duty applied shall be retroactively effective for imported goods within 90 days prior to the imposition of the provisional anti-dumping duty if the imported goods are determined to be dumped; the volume or quantity of dumped goods imported into Vietnam increases sharply and rapidly during the period from the commencement of the investigation to the imposition of the provisional anti-dumping duty and causes irreparable harm to the domestic industry.

Article 82. Review of the application of anti-dumping measures

1. The review at the request of the interested party in the investigation case shall be carried out as follows:

a) One year after the date of the decision to apply anti-dumping measures, the Minister of Industry and Trade has the right to decide to review the application of anti-dumping measures at the request of one or more interested parties in the investigation case and based on the examination of the evidence provided by the requesting party;

b) The procedures related to the review process must not hinder the enforcement of the anti-dumping measures currently in effect;

c) The review period specified in this clause shall not exceed 6 months from the date of the review decision, and if necessary, it may be extended once, but not exceeding 3 months.

2. The final review is conducted as follows:

a) One year before the expiry of the anti-dumping measure period, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall issue a decision to conduct a final review of the application of the anti-dumping measures;

b) The content of the review aims to determine the necessity, reasonableness, and socio-economic impact of continuing to apply anti-dumping measures;

c) Based on the review results of the Investigating Agency, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide to extend or not extend the application of anti-dumping measures;

d) The final review period shall not exceed 09 months from the date of the review decision; if necessary, it may be extended once but not exceeding 03 months.

3. The review for foreign producers or exporters who did not sell the investigated goods into the territory of Vietnam during the initial investigation period but later exported those goods into the territory of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as new exporters) is conducted as follows:

a) New exporters may submit a dossier requesting the Investigating Authority to conduct a review and determine a specific anti-dumping duty rate;

b) Based on the results of the review by the Investigating Authority, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall issue a decision to apply a specific anti-dumping duty rate for the reviewed new exporters;

c) The review period for new exporters shall not exceed 03 months from the date of the review decision; if necessary, it may be extended once but not exceeding 03 months.

4. The review of the scope of goods subject to anti-dumping measures is carried out as follows:

a) Interested parties in the investigation may request the Investigating Authority to review the scope of goods subject to anti-dumping measures;

b) The review request dossier includes evidence and information proving that the application of anti-dumping measures to all goods subject to such measures is inappropriate;

c) Based on the review conclusions of the Investigating Authority, the Minister of Industry and Trade decides on the adjustment of the scope of goods subject to anti-dumping measures;

d) The time limit for reviewing the scope of goods subject to anti-dumping measures shall not exceed 06 months from the date of the review decision; if necessary, it may be extended once but not exceeding 03 months.

Section 3. COUNTERVAILING MEASURES FOR IMPORTED GOODS INTO VIETNAM

Article 83. Countervailing Measures

1. Countervailing measures on goods imported into Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as countervailing measures) are measures applied in cases where imported goods are subsidized and cause significant damage or threaten to cause significant damage to the domestic production sector, or hinder the establishment of a domestic production sector.

2. Countervailing measures include:

a) Applying countervailing duties;

b) Commitments from organizations, individuals, or the government of the producing or exporting country with the competent state authority of Vietnam regarding voluntarily ending subsidies, reducing the level of subsidies, or committing to adjust export prices;

c) Other countervailing measures.

Article 84. Subsidies

Subsidies are contributions from the Government or any public organization in the country of goods imported into Vietnam in the following forms that provide benefits to the organization or individual receiving the subsidy:

1. The Government actually transfers capital directly to the organization or individual or assumes debt directly for the organization or individual;

2. The Government overlooks or does not collect amounts that the organization or individual is obliged to pay to the Government;

3. The Government provides assets, goods, or services to the organization or individual that are not common infrastructure;

4. The Government purchases assets, goods, or services from the organization or individual at prices higher than market prices;

5. The Government sells assets, goods, or services to the organization or individual at prices lower than market prices;

6. The government contributes money to a funding mechanism; entrusts, assigns, or directs, requires a private organization to carry out one or more activities prescribed in clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article that normally fall within the functions of the Government and in practice are no different from the ordinary activities of the Government;

7. Any form of income or price support;

8. Any other form of subsidy not specified in clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this Article, determined based on the principles of fairness, reasonableness, and not contrary to international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Article 85. Subsidies that may be subject to countervailing measures

The following subsidies may be subject to countervailing measures, except where an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member provides otherwise:

1. Subsidies based on export performance;

2. Subsidies are intended to prioritize the use of domestically produced goods over imported goods;

3. The subsidies prescribed in Article 84 of this Law invalidate or affect the rights and benefits that Vietnam directly or indirectly enjoys under the provisions of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Article 86. Conditions for applying anti-subsidy measures

1. Anti-subsidy measures are applied to imported goods when the following conditions are met:

a) The goods are determined to receive subsidies according to the provisions of Articles 84 and 85 of this Law, and the level of subsidy is specifically determined, except as provided in paragraph 2 of this Article;

b) The domestic production industry suffers significant damage or is threatened with significant damage or hindered in the formation of a domestic production industry;

c) There is a causal relationship between the importation of subsidized goods as specified in point a of this paragraph and the injury to the domestic industry as specified in point b of this paragraph.

2. Anti-subsidy measures shall not be applied to producers or exporters in developed countries whose subsidy levels do not exceed 1% of the export price of goods to Vietnam, producers or exporters in developing countries whose subsidy levels do not exceed 2% of the export price of goods to Vietnam, and producers or exporters in least developed countries whose subsidy levels do not exceed 3% of the export price of goods to Vietnam.

3. In the case where imported goods originate from a developing country and the volume or quantity does not exceed 4% of the total volume or quantity of like goods imported into Vietnam, and the total volume or quantity of goods originating from developing countries meeting the above condition does not exceed 9% of the total volume or quantity of like goods imported into Vietnam, these countries shall be excluded from the scope of application of anti-subsidy measures.

Article 87. Grounds for initiating an investigation into the application of anti-subsidy measures

1. The investigation into the application of anti-subsidy measures shall be conducted when there is a request dossier for the application of anti-subsidy measures submitted by an organization or individual representing the domestic industry.

2. An organization or individual who submits a request dossier for the application of anti-subsidy measures shall be considered to represent the domestic industry if the following conditions are fully met:

a) The total volume or quantity of similar goods produced by domestic producers who submit dossiers and domestic producers who support the request to apply countervailing measures must be greater than the total volume or quantity of similar goods produced by domestic producers who oppose the request to apply countervailing measures;

b) The total volume or quantity of similar goods produced by domestic producers who submit dossiers and domestic producers who support the request to apply countervailing measures must account for at least 25% of the total volume or quantity of similar goods produced by the domestic industry.

3. The Minister of Industry and Trade is responsible for deciding to investigate when there is clear evidence that the import of subsidized goods causes significant damage or threatens to cause significant damage to the domestic manufacturing industry or hinders the establishment of the domestic manufacturing industry.

Article 88. Content of the investigation on applying anti-subsidy measures

1. Identifying subsidized goods imported into Vietnam and the level of subsidies, including:

a) Determining the amount of subsidy;

b) Determining the export price;

c) Determining the specific level of subsidy for each foreign producer and exporter.

2. Identifying significant damage or the threat of significant damage to the domestic manufacturing industry or hindering the establishment of the domestic manufacturing industry, including:

a) Determining the volume and quantity of imported subsidized goods and their impact on the prices of similar goods in the domestic market;

b) Determine the impact of subsidized imported goods on the domestic manufacturing industry.

3. Identify the causal relationship between the importation of subsidized goods and significant injury or the threat of causing significant injury to the domestic manufacturing industry, or hindrance to the establishment of the domestic manufacturing industry.

4. Determine the impact of anti-subsidy measures on the socio-economic situation.

Article 89. Application of anti-subsidy measures

1. The application of provisional anti-subsidy duties is decided by the Minister of Industry and Trade based on the preliminary findings of the investigating authority. The level of provisional anti-subsidy duty shall not exceed the amount of subsidy stated in the preliminary findings.

The duration for applying provisional anti-subsidy duties shall not exceed 120 days from the date the decision to apply provisional anti-subsidy duties takes effect. The Minister of Industry and Trade may extend the application of provisional anti-subsidy duties, but not more than 60 days.

2. The application of commitment measures is carried out as follows:

a) After a preliminary conclusion has been made and before the investigation is concluded, organizations or individuals producing or exporting the investigated goods, or the government of the goods' subsidizing country, may make commitments to the investigating agency regarding voluntarily ending subsidies, reducing the level of subsidies, committing to adjust export prices, or applying other appropriate measures;

b) The investigating agency may accept, reject, or propose adjustments to the commitment content based on the opinions of organizations or individuals representing the domestic manufacturing sector.

3. The implementation of countervailing duties is carried out as follows:

a) In the case that the commitments specified in Clause 2 of this Article are not achieved, after the investigation is concluded, the investigating agency shall announce the final conclusion on the investigative contents prescribed in Article 88 of this Law. The investigating agency's final conclusion and the main grounds for issuing the final conclusion must be notified in an appropriate manner to the relevant parties;

b) Based on the final conclusion of the investigating agency, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide whether or not to apply the countervailing duty;

c) The countervailing duty rate must not exceed the level of subsidy in the final conclusion;

d) The duration for applying the countervailing duty shall not exceed 05 years from the effective date of the decision to apply the countervailing duty, except in cases extended according to the provisions in Clause 2, Article 90 of this Law.

4. The retroactive application of the countervailing duty shall be carried out as follows:

a) In case the final conclusion of the investigating agency determines that there is significant damage or a threat of causing significant damage to the domestic production industry, the Minister of Industry and Trade may decide to apply the countervailing duty retroactively;

b) Countervailing duties are applied retroactively to imported goods within 90 days prior to the application of provisional countervailing duties if the imported goods are determined to have received subsidies; the volume or quantity of subsidized goods imported into Vietnam rapidly increases in an abnormal manner from the time of investigation to the application of provisional countervailing duties, causing irreparable damage to the domestic production sector.

5. The application of other countervailing measures is carried out in accordance with the provisions of international treaties of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member or according to the principles of international law.

Article 90. Review of the application of countervailing measures

1. The review at the request of the interested party in the investigation case shall be carried out as follows:

a) After 01 year from the date of the decision to apply anti-subsidy measures, the Minister of Industry and Trade has the authority to decide on the review of the application of anti-subsidy measures at the request of one or more parties involved in the investigation case and based on the examination of evidence provided by the requesting party;

b) The procedures related to the review process must not obstruct the application of the effective anti-subsidy measures;

c) The review period specified in this clause shall not exceed 6 months from the date of the review decision, and if necessary, it may be extended once, but not exceeding 3 months.

2. The final review is conducted as follows:

a) 01 year before the expiration of the period for applying anti-subsidy measures, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide to carry out a final review of the application of anti-subsidy measures;

b) The content of the review aims to determine the necessity, reasonableness, and socio-economic impact of continuing the application of anti-subsidy measures;

c) Based on the results of the investigation conducted by the Investigating Agency, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall issue a decision to extend or not to extend the application of countervailing measures;

d) The final review period shall not exceed 09 months from the date of the review decision; if necessary, it may be extended once but not exceeding 03 months.

3. The review of new exporters shall be conducted as follows:

a) New exporters may submit a dossier requesting the Investigating Agency to carry out a review and determine the individual countervailing duty rate;

b) Based on the results of the review by the Investigating Agency, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall issue a decision to apply the individual countervailing duty rate for the new exporter under review;

c) The review period for new exporters shall not exceed 03 months from the date of the review decision, and if necessary, may be extended once but not exceeding 03 months.

4. The review of the scope of goods subject to countervailing measures shall be conducted as follows:

a) The parties involved in the investigation may request the Investigative Agency to review the scope of goods subject to anti-subsidy measures;

b) The review request dossier includes evidence and information proving that the application of countervailing measures to all goods subject to countervailing measures is inappropriate;

c) Based on the review conclusions of the Investigating Authority, the Minister of Industry and Trade decides on the adjustment of the scope of goods subject to countervailing measures;

d) The period for reviewing the scope of goods subject to anti-subsidy measures shall not exceed 06 months from the date of the review decision, and if necessary, it may be extended once but not more than 03 months.

5. The review due to changes in circumstances is conducted as follows:

a) At any time after the anti-subsidy duty officially takes effect, if one or more interested parties in the investigation case finds new circumstances that significantly change the level of subsidy on the goods subject to the anti-subsidy measures, leading to either no subsidy, an insignificant level of subsidy, or no longer causing significant injury, or no longer threatening significant injury to the domestic industry, or no longer hindering the establishment of the domestic industry, such party has the right to request the investigating authority to conduct a review due to changed circumstances;

b) The review request dossier must provide evidence and information proving that the application of the anti-subsidy measure is no longer appropriate due to the changed circumstances;

c) Based on the review conclusions of the Investigating Agency, the Minister of Industry and Trade decides on the adjustment or termination of the anti-subsidy measures;

d) The review period due to changed circumstances shall not exceed 09 months from the date of the review decision, and if necessary, it may be extended once but not exceeding 03 months.

Section 4. SAFEGUARD MEASURES IN THE IMPORT OF FOREIGN GOODS INTO VIETNAM

Article 91. Safeguard measures

1. Safeguard measures in the import of foreign goods into Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as safeguard measures) are measures applied in the case that imported goods excessively enter Vietnam, causing serious damage or threatening to cause serious damage to domestic production industries.

2. Safeguard measures include:

a) Application of safeguard duties;

b) Application of import quotas;

c) Application of tariff quotas;

d) Issuance of import licenses;

e) Other safeguard measures.

Article 92. Conditions for applying safeguard measures

1. Safeguard measures shall only be applied to imported goods when the following conditions are met:

a) Over-importation occurs when the volume or quantity of imported goods increases in absolute or relative terms compared to the volume or quantity of similar goods produced domestically;

b) The domestic industry suffers serious injury or is threatened with serious injury;

c) The increase in the volume or quantity of imported goods specified in point a of this clause is the main cause of the serious injury or threat of serious injury to the domestic industry.

2. In the case of imported goods originating from a developing country, if the volume or quantity does not exceed 3% of the total volume or quantity of similar goods imported into Vietnam, and the total volume or quantity of goods originating from developing countries meeting the above condition does not exceed 9% of the total volume or quantity of similar goods imported into Vietnam, these countries are excluded from the scope of application of safeguard measures.

Article 93. Grounds for conducting an investigation to apply safeguard measures

1. The investigation for applying safeguard measures shall be carried out when there is a request file for applying safeguard measures from an organization or individual in domestic production of similar goods or directly competitive goods, which are goods that could be accepted by buyers as substitutes for goods within the scope of safeguard measures due to price advantages and intended use.

2. The file provides clear evidence that goods are being imported in excess into Vietnam, causing serious injury or threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic industry.

3. The Minister of Industry and Trade is responsible for deciding to investigate when there is clear evidence that goods are being imported in excess into Vietnam, causing serious injury or threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic industry.

Article 94. Contents of investigation for the application of safeguard measures

1. Determine the goods that are being imported in excess into Vietnam and the degree of increase in imported goods.

2. Determine the serious injury or threat of serious injury to the domestic industry.

3. Determine the causal relationship between the excessive importation of goods specified in clause 1 of this Article and the injury to the domestic industry specified in clause 2 of this Article.

Article 95. Application of safeguard measures

1. The application of temporary safeguard measures shall be decided by the Minister of Industry and Trade based on the preliminary conclusions of the investigating authority before the investigation is concluded, if it is considered that delaying the implementation of safeguard measures would cause serious damage or threaten to cause serious damage to the domestic production industry and such damage would be difficult to remedy later.

The period of applying temporary safeguard measures shall not exceed 200 days from the effective date of the decision to apply temporary safeguard measures.

2. The application of official safeguard measures shall be carried out as follows:

a) After completing the investigation, the Investigative Agency shall announce the final conclusion on matters related to the investigation process as prescribed in Article 94 of this Law. The final conclusion and the main grounds for issuing the final conclusion must be notified in an appropriate manner to the parties concerned in the investigation process;

b) Based on the final conclusion of the Investigative Agency, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide whether or not to apply the official safeguard measure;

c) The duration of applying the safeguard measure, including the period of applying the provisional safeguard measure, shall not exceed 04 years, except for cases of extension as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 96 of this Law;

d) The total duration of applying the safeguard measure, including the period of applying the provisional safeguard measure, the official safeguard measure, and the extension period, shall not exceed 10 years.

Article 96. Review of the implementation of safeguard measures

1. The mid-term review shall be conducted as follows:

a) In case the duration of the safeguard measure exceeds 03 years, the Investigating Authority must conduct a review of the safeguard measure before half of this period expires to conclude on maintaining, terminating, or reducing the level of application of the safeguard measures;

b) Based on the review results of the Investigating Authority, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall make a decision on maintaining, terminating, or reducing the level of application of the safeguard measure;

c) The duration of the mid-term review of the safeguard measure shall not exceed 06 months from the date of the review decision, and if necessary, it may be extended once but not more than 03 months.

2. The final review is conducted as follows:

a) Before the expiration of the safeguard measure application period, domestic organizations and individuals producing similar goods or directly competitive goods who wish to extend the application of the safeguard measure must submit a request file for the extension of the safeguard measure. The request file for the extension of the safeguard measure includes evidence showing that the domestic production industry has implemented necessary adjustment measures to enhance competitiveness and that the termination of the safeguard measure will cause serious damage or threaten to cause serious damage to the domestic production industry;

b) The investigating authority may base on the request for the extension of the safeguard measure specified in point a of this clause or conduct an end-of-term review on its own;

c) Based on the review results of the investigating authority, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide on the termination or extension of the safeguard measure;

d) The level of application of safeguard measures during the extension period must not be higher than the level of application immediately before the end of the previous safeguard measure period;

d) The final review period shall not exceed 06 months from the date of the review decision, and if necessary, it can be extended once but not exceeding 06 months.

3. The review of the scope of goods subjected to safeguard measures is carried out as follows:

a) Importers of goods subject to safeguard measures may request the Investigative Agency to review the scope of goods subject to safeguard measures;

b) The dossier requesting a review must provide evidence and information proving that the application of safeguard measures to all goods subject to safeguard measures is inappropriate;

c) Based on the review conclusions of the Investigative Agency, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide on the adjustment of the scope of goods subject to safeguard measures;

d) The review period for the scope of goods subject to safeguard measures shall not exceed 06 months from the date of the review decision, and if necessary, it may be extended once but not more than 03 months.

Article 97. Reapplication of safeguard measures

1. Safeguard measures that have been applied to a type of goods may be reapplied to those goods according to the following provisions:

a) In the case that safeguard measures have been applied for 04 years or more, including any extension period (if any), they may only be reapplied after a period of at least half of the previous application period of the safeguard measures;

b) In the case that safeguard measures have been applied for more than 180 days but less than 04 years, including any extension period (if any), they may only be reapplied after at least 02 years from the termination of the previous safeguard measures.

c) In the case that a safeguard measure has been applied for 180 days or less, it can only be re-applied after at least 01 year from the start of the previous safeguard measure, provided that the previous safeguard measure has not been applied more than 02 times within 05 years prior to the effective date of the re-applied measure.

2. The sequence and procedures for investigating the re-application of safeguard measures shall be conducted according to the sequence and procedures for investigating the application of safeguard measures.

Article 98. Compensation

1. Compensation and the level of compensation for damage caused by the application of safeguard measures shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

2. Compensation and the level of compensation for damage shall be determined on the basis of consultation results between the involved parties.

3. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries or ministerial-level agencies to develop a compensation plan for submission to the Prime Minister for approval before conducting consultations with the parties affected by the application of safeguard measures.

Article 99. Special Safeguard

1. Special safeguard is a safeguard measure decided by the Minister of Industry and Trade to be applied in the case of excessive increase in imports into Vietnam as a result of tariff reductions in accordance with the schedule of an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.

2. Special safeguard measures only apply to goods originating from specifically identified countries, in accordance with the international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.

3. The investigation and application of special safeguard measures must comply with the international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.

Chapter V. EMERGENCY CONTROL MEASURES IN FOREIGN TRADE ACTIVITIES

Article 100. Cases of applying emergency control measures to goods

1. Goods coming from countries, territories, or geographic areas experiencing war, participating in war, conflict, or having a risk of direct or indirect armed conflict affecting the security and national interests of Vietnam.

2. Goods coming from countries, territories, or geographic areas experiencing natural disasters, epidemics, or environmental incidents for which the competent authority of Vietnam has publicly available information or can demonstrate that there is a serious threat to the health of consumers of those goods.

3. Goods coming from countries, territories, or geographic regions where incidents, deficiencies, or technical errors occur, and where competent authorities of Vietnam have publicly available information or can prove that they directly and seriously affect the safety and health of consumers of those goods.

4. Goods coming from countries, territories, or geographic regions that have a serious impact on the environment, ecology, or biodiversity of Vietnam, and where competent authorities of Vietnam have publicly available information or have scientific grounds to prove such impact.

5. Serious imbalance of the balance of payments.

6. Other particularly serious cases as prescribed by law.

Article 101. Principles for applying emergency control measures

1. Emergency control measures shall only be applied in cases prescribed in Article 100 of this Law.

2. The competent state management agency has the authority to decide on the application of appropriate administrative measures in accordance with the provisions of Chapter II of this Law.

3. The competent state management agency applying emergency control measures must evaluate and select measures that cause the least disruption to foreign trade activities.

4. Emergency control measures shall be abolished when the cases specified in Article 100 of this Law no longer exist or through negotiation and consultation.

Article 102. Consultation in cases of applying emergency control measures

1. Before or after the emergency control measures are issued or abolished, the authority competent to apply the emergency control measures is responsible for consulting with affected trading partners in accordance with the provisions of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

2. Ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies shall provide detailed regulations on consultation in cases of applying emergency control measures.

Chapter VI. MEASURES TO DEVELOP FOREIGN TRADE ACTIVITIES

Article 103. General policy on developing foreign trade activities

1. The State has policies to develop foreign trade activities through the following measures:

a) Credit activities regulated by the Government in accordance with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member;

b) Trade promotion aimed at boosting foreign trade activities, including support for building, protecting, developing, and promoting domestic product brands in foreign markets; establishing and providing trade promotion information systems; connecting business transactions between traders to effectively promote imports and exports to serve domestic production or processing for export;

c) Other measures to expand export and import markets.

2. All agencies, organizations, and individuals conducting business domestically and internationally are allowed to participate in developing foreign trade activities in accordance with legal regulations.

3. Measures to develop foreign trade activities must be consistent with the orientation of the socio-economic development strategy and foreign trade strategy for each period issued by the Prime Minister.

4. Measures to develop foreign trade activities must be effectively implemented and coordinated with measures to promote investment and tourism.

Article 104. Special policies on developing foreign trade activities

1. The State has policies to develop foreign trade activities for products with competitive advantages that can be produced domestically, technology products, and essential input materials for domestic production.

2. The State has policies to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises, enterprises in mountainous areas, border areas, islands, remote areas, areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, and areas with difficult socio-economic conditions, particularly very difficult ones, to participate in foreign trade activities.

3. The government shall provide detailed regulations on this Article.

Article 105. Development of foreign trade activities through trade promotion

1. Trade promotion policies that support foreign trade activities are implemented through the activities of the following agencies and organizations:

a) Activities of domestic trade promotion agencies and organizations;

b) Activities of trade promotion organizations abroad;

c) Activities of foreign trade promotion organizations in Vietnam;

d) Activities of the representative offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam abroad, of trade representatives.

2. Activities for developing foreign trade through trade promotion include:

a) Developing and implementing national-level programs and activities for trade promotion, building and developing a national brand for products and goods as decided by the Prime Minister, in order to develop foreign trade activities in accordance with the socio-economic development conditions of each period;

b) Develop and implement market development activities, build and promote the brand of local products and goods carried out by local authorities to develop foreign trade activities in accordance with the socio-economic development conditions in each period;

c) Conduct trade connection activities, participate in distribution systems abroad and in Vietnam;

d) Support the development and operation of commercial and logistics infrastructure serving foreign trade activities;

d) Support research, development, and improvement of product and goods quality;

e) Train and enhance the capacity of traders in trade promotion and market development;

g) Other activities according to the provisions of law.

3. Associations, social-professional organizations, economic organizations established or participating in trade promotion activities abroad shall comply with the provisions of Vietnamese law and the law of the relevant country.

4. Based on the export growth targets decided by the National Assembly in each period, the competent state agencies shall provide funding support for the trade promotion activities of agencies, organizations, and traders in accordance with the provisions of the law on the state budget.

5. The government shall provide detailed regulations on this Article.

Article 106. Development of foreign trade activities through trade promotion activities of foreign trade promotion organizations in Vietnam

1. Trade promotion organizations and foreign organizations (hereinafter collectively referred to as foreign trade promotion organizations) are allowed to establish representative offices in Vietnam to carry out activities related to trade promotion and the development of foreign trade activities.

2. Foreign trade promotion organizations may establish representative offices in Vietnam when meeting the following conditions:

a) Being an organization established in accordance with foreign law;

b) Having statutes and purposes consistent with the laws of Vietnam or international treaties of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

3. The Government shall stipulate in detail the establishment and management of representative offices of foreign trade promotion organizations in Vietnam.

Article 107. Development of foreign trade activities through trade representative activities

1. Trade representatives are organized in areas with a demand for developing foreign trade activities, with the function of serving the development of the country's foreign trade according to the provisions of law, supporting the protection of the economic and commercial interests of Vietnam, and Vietnamese traders in foreign trade activities.

2. The organization and operation of trade representatives are carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on the representative offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam abroad.

Chapter VII. SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES ON THE APPLICATION OF FOREIGN TRADE MANAGEMENT MEASURES

Article 108. Principles for participating in the resolution of disputes regarding the application of foreign trade management measures by state management agencies

1. Only participate in resolving disputes on the application of foreign trade management measures related to relations between the Government of Vietnam and foreign governments in accordance with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

2. Ensure that the rights and interests of Vietnam are timely and reasonably protected among the parties involved in the dispute.

3. Foreign trade disputes between Vietnamese traders and foreign traders shall be resolved by the traders themselves according to agreements, in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Article 109. State management agencies participating in the resolution of disputes regarding the application of foreign trade management measures

1. The state management agency participating in the resolution of disputes concerning the application of foreign trade management measures is the Government. The Government assigns Ministries or ministerial-level agencies to participate in resolving disputes regarding the application of foreign trade management measures.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is the focal agency assisting the Government in participating in the resolution of disputes regarding the application of foreign trade management measures.

Article 110. Procedures for resolving disputes initiated by a foreign government

1. When a foreign government initiates a lawsuit against the Government of Vietnam under the provisions of an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member, concerning foreign trade management measures issued by the Vietnamese State, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall be the focal agency, coordinating with other Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, relevant agencies, and organizations to develop a dispute resolution plan and submit it to the Prime Minister for approval.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, relevant agencies, and other organizations shall implement the assigned tasks based on the approved dispute resolution plan.

3. The Government shall specifically regulate the order, procedures, and coordination in resolving disputes initiated by foreign governments.

Article 111. Order and procedures for resolving disputes initiated by the Government of Vietnam

1. Upon detecting foreign trade management measures that affect the rights and interests of Vietnam or based on the proposal of businesses or industry associations, the Government shall decide to initiate disputes regarding those measures in accordance with the provisions of this Law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the lead, in coordination with other Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, relevant agencies, and organizations, to develop a dispute resolution plan and submit it to the Prime Minister for approval.

3. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, relevant agencies, and other organizations shall implement the assigned tasks based on the approved dispute resolution plan.

4. The Government shall specify the sequence, procedures, and coordination for resolving disputes initiated by the Government of Vietnam.

Chapter VIII. ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS

Article 112. Effectiveness

1. This Law shall take effect from January 1, 2018.

2. The following ordinances shall cease to be effective from the date this Law takes effect, except as provided in Article 113 of this Law:

a) Ordinance on Safeguards on the importation of foreign goods into Vietnam No. 42/2002/PL-UBTVQH10;

b) Ordinance on Anti-Dumping of Imported Goods to Vietnam No. 20/2004/PL-UBTVQH11;

c) Ordinance on Countervailing Duties on Imported Goods to Vietnam No. 22/2004/PL-UBTVQH11.

3. Abolish Clause 3 of Article 28, Clause 3 of Article 29, Clause 3 of Article 30, and Articles 31, 33, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, and 247 of the Commercial Law No. 36/2005/QH11.

Article 113. Transitional Provisions

From the effective date of this Law, trade defense cases that have been received by competent state agencies for complaint dossiers and investigations before the effective date of this Law shall continue to be considered and resolved in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance on Safeguards on Imported Foreign Goods into Vietnam No. 42/2002/PL-UBTVQH10, the Ordinance on Anti-Dumping of Imported Goods to Vietnam No. 20/2004/PL-UBTVQH11, and the Ordinance on Countervailing Duties on Imported Goods to Vietnam No. 22/2004/PL-UBTVQH11.

This Law was passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 14th Legislature, 3rd session, on June 12, 2017.

CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

(Signed)

Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân