Hanoi (VNA) – Fighting smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and intellectual property (IP) violations is an ongoing mission for the entire political system – “a starting point with no end,” as Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc, head of the National Steering Committee for Combating Smuggling, Commercial Fraud, and Counterfeit Goods (Steering Committee 39), put it.
Speaking at a nationwide online conference reviewing the committee's work in the first half of 2026 and launching tasks for the rest of the year on July 7, Tuc said efforts to crack down on smuggling and counterfeit goods had helped foster a healthier business environment, maintain social order and strengthen public confidence. Vietnam has also received positive recognition from the US for its efforts to protect intellectual property rights.
However, smuggling, counterfeit and substandard goods, origin fraud and IP violations remain widespread, particularly on e-commerce platforms. Illegal invoice trading, tax fraud and the abuse of import-export policies for smuggling have yet to be thoroughly tackled, he noted.
The Deputy PM said enforcement agencies had not acted decisively enough, while inspections and post-clearance checks remained inconsistent. In some cases, officials were found to have facilitated or covered up violations. Progress in building specialised databases, particularly a national product traceability system, has also been slow.
He called on ministries, sectors and localities to implement directives issued by the Government, the Prime Minister and the National Steering Committee, with greater focus on combating the smuggling of drugs, gold, foreign currency, next-generation tobacco products, goods falsely labelled as Vietnamese and intellectual property violations. Authorities were also urged to intensify action against counterfeit and substandard food, pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements to protect public health.
Relevant ministries were requested to continue reviewing and improving the legal framework while accelerating digital transformation and the application of information technology in anti-smuggling and anti-counterfeiting efforts.
Tuc assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Public Security to expedite the development of a national product traceability database, strengthen data connectivity and sharing, and improve the effectiveness of public hotlines for reporting violations. He also stressed the need for stricter oversight of enforcement agencies, stronger professional ethics and firm action against officials shielding illegal activities.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan said that during the nationwide campaign launched under Official Dispatch No. 38/CD-TTg, the ministry had worked with e-commerce platforms to remove more than 9,000 infringing products, block over 2,000 online stores, handle more than 300 online violations and deal with over 1,500 trademark infringement cases. Twenty-four cases showing signs of criminal offences were transferred to investigative authorities. In the second half of the year, the ministry will continue tightening oversight of e-commerce while expanding the use of digital technology and product traceability to detect violations.
Lt. Gen. Vu Trung Kien, Commander of the Border Guard, said the Border Guard and Coast Guard dismantled numerous cross-border criminal networks in the first half of the year, contributing more than 170 billion VND (6.5 million USD) to the State budget through administrative fines and auctions of confiscated assets. The forces also cooperated in dismantling a major maritime drug trafficking ring, seizing more than one tonne of narcotics.
According to Maj. Gen. Dao Hong Son, Deputy Director of the Police Department for Corruption, Smuggling and Economic Crimes under the Ministry of Public Security, said that smuggling and the production and trade of prohibited goods are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with criminal networks operating across both physical and online spaces. In the first six months of 2026, the ministry initiated legal proceedings against 1,333 cases involving 2,354 suspects.
During the ongoing nationwide campaign against intellectual property crimes from May 7 to August 6, authorities launched legal proceedings against 141 cases involving 254 suspects within the first eight weeks and seized goods worth nearly 143.4 billion VND.
The Ministry of Public Security has proposed that relevant ministries and agencies accelerate legal reforms, promptly amend outdated regulations and remove bottlenecks to facilitate inspections, investigations, prosecutions and handling of these illegal activities./.
