Law may open doors to foreign merchants
Friday, September 24, 2004, Vietnamese News
Hanoi - A draft law to throw open trading to foreign businesses has come up before the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration. It is expected to go to the NA house for approval by year-end.
Hitherto, under the Trade Law enacted in 1997, foreign traders could open representative officers while trading was allowed only by Vietnamese businesses.
Though the current law also allows foreign traders to open branches in the country, it restricts the trading range of these branches.
Deputy director of the trade ministry's Legal Department, Nguyen Danh Lam, said however that it has already sparked off worries among local businesses who fear the would be hurt in their own backyard.
"There are some arguments against foreign traders being allowed to enter," Lam said, "but, we believe this change is necessary in the face of the increasing need for integration."
The draft law allows foreign traders to be involved in most commercial activities including distribution, import/export and services and envisages the same treatment for them as their Vietnamese counterparts.
It also revokes several regulations that have either proved ineffective or too general to apply.
"Some articles in the 1997 law have proven impracticable - like some Government policies regarding trading or the definition of the legal status of traders," Lam said.
"We tried to make the law as clear as possible. The law is supposed to give people unambiguous answers about what can or cannot be done."
According to trade minister Truong Dinh Tuyen, the changes to the Trade Law are aimed to keep up with the rapid changes in the country's trading activities, fulfill its commitments under the integration process and meet emerging demands from its bid to join the WTO.
Thus, the draft expands the definition of "commodities" to accommodate real estate, land-related items and the right to own property.
The draft law underlines traders' freedom to do business in Vietnam and the State's protection for it.
Other changes
Minister Tuyen said the ministry supplements four trading activities in the draft: the transit of commodities through Vietnam's territory, commodities leasing, trading activities on the dealing floor, and the selling of trading rights.
Another new regulation in the draft will allow the Government to take emergency measures on the trading of certain goods, including circulation bans in the domestic market, for instance poultry in the event of the bird flu.
The draft also says both domestic and foreign traders can participate in all business fields that are banned by Government regulation. These regulations will be regularly updated and made public according to international rules.
One of the most notable changes is the acceptance of on-line business data in the draft law, which is aimed at laying a legal foundation for businesses to boost trade deals though cyberspace.
The draft has 7 chapters containing 314 articles.
