Understanding SPS in the RCEP Agreement to avoid 'laughing until tears' stories

Clear changes

Sharing on the sidelines of the conference "Disseminating Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Regulations in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement," Ms. Phan Thi Men, General Director of Sutech Science and Technology Consultant Company, said that "Two years since Order 248 took effect, basically 100% of the businesses we consulted have understood the regulations, standards, and methods of registering goods. At the same time, the process of circulating export goods has also undergone significant changes in the direction of diversifying export products."

As an organization independently consulting and guiding businesses in the field of exported animals and plants, the Sutech representative said that in the first phase of applying the new registration method under Order 248, some difficulties have occurred. Mainly because businesses and producers have not fully been aware of the requirements of the import market. A few unfortunate cases also appeared.

However, with the coordination of the Vietnam SPS Office and specialized units, Sutech promptly guided businesses to monitor warnings on the system of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) and, at the same time, had instructions for the production chain to self-inspect, review the causes, and take corrective measures.

Up to this point, businesses registering to export to China have almost provided 100% complete information, with no HS code errors. Trade activities are smooth.

According to Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam, Deputy Director of the Vietnam SPS Office, when first guiding domestic businesses to meet new regulations, including Order 248, many "laughing until tears" stories happened. For example, businesses fill in the missing letter "s" when declaring on GACC's Cifer system, or confuse the phone number with the tax code, etc.

According to Mr. Nam, when giving instructions for the first time, many businesses responded that they were afraid of being scammed or were not interested in the information provided by the Office. Others were confident in their business partnership with China, even though they have not yet completed their documents on the Cifer system.

“We share businesses' problems. However, compliance with SPS regulations in free trade agreements, including RCEP, is mandatory. Businesses must proactively monitor the document processing process and have certain understanding when participating in exporting," Mr. Nam expressed.

Since 2022, the Vietnam SPS Office has continuously organized conference series in many localities across the country. Through the program, businesses, cooperatives, and individuals have the opportunity to answer questions related to SPS regulations in import-export activities.

Mr. Ly Hai Long, representative of BSB Nanotechnology Joint Stock Company, who directly participated in the conference "Disseminating SPS regulations in the RCEP Agreement" in Lang Son on the morning of June 7, assessed that the information from the conference is very useful, which businesses cannot always get. Besides, the participation of a large number of businesses at the conference also brings cooperation opportunities for BSB, contributing to more efficient production and

"When we have the same concerns, specifically SPS regulations, each side will proactively carry out its role in the value chain responsibly," Mr. Long expressed.

Need to pay more attention to food hygiene and safety

For each country's economic development, exports play an important role in promoting production, including the export of agricultural products. Exporting agricultural products helps promote product consumption, increase income and profits for farmers, create job opportunities, and develop related industries.

Mr. Hoang Van Chieu, Deputy Director of the Lang Son Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, shared: "To increase export turnover of agricultural products, compliance with regulations on food safety and animal and plant quarantine is very important, especially international standards and the standards of the import country."

The RCEP Agreement took effect on January 1, 2022, in Vietnam, opening the world's largest free trade area for Vietnam. One of the goals of RCEP is to promote deep and wide integration between different economies.

To achieve this goal, member countries have committed to measures to ensure food safety and animal and plant quarantine to eliminate technical barriers and create favorable conditions for export activities. Countries will apply science-based food safety and animal and plant quarantine measures in accordance with international standards. At the same time, commit to recognizing each other's disease situation and quarantine methods, facilitating customs clearance of goods.

Besides, strengthen cooperation and exchange of information on food safety and animal and plant quarantine to create a transparent trade environment and fair competition.

With the characteristic of having two international border gates, Huu Nghi Border Gate and Dong Dang Railway Station Border Gate, one main border gate, and six secondary border gates, Lang Son has been a convenient gateway for exporting agricultural products to China for many years. In recent years, the locality has always tried to implement solutions to make agricultural product exporting activities through the province most favorable.

"The Lang Son Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is always ready to coordinate with agencies, organizations, and localities to well implement agricultural product exporting activities throughout the province," Mr. Chieu emphasized, adding that the province has set a goal of increasing the value of agricultural production through export.

Therefore, Lang Son hopes to receive more help from agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, including the Vietnam SPS Office, so that Lang Son's agricultural products are present in many localities domestically and internationally.

Noting Lang Son's opinion, Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam requested the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development advise the Provincial People's Committee to strengthen food safety supervision in the area. Because Lang Son is the gateway to international trade, it is also the place where many goods and agricultural products from the whole country gather. If an incident related to food safety unfortunately occurs, it can affect the entire industry chain as well as the impression of international friends.

Besides, Mr. Nam noted that businesses, especially export businesses, proactively approach information on changes to SPS regulations of the import market and provide comments and contributions to the announcements that the Vietnam SPS Office posted on the electronic information portal and media.

"The world is always in motion, and market regulations are also regularly supplemented and updated. Businesses in other countries are always interested in changes in SPS regulations. As a member of the WTO and on the way to becoming the world's kitchen, Vietnamese businesses cannot stand outside this rule," Mr. Nam emphasized.

Ms. Ton Nu Thuc Uyen, Deputy Director of the Vietnam TBT Office, recommends that businesses pay attention to compliance with packaging, labels, and product packaging because this is the first impression on customers, especially in the international market.