Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Ha Minh Hiep, Deputy Director General of the Directoratefor Standards, Metrology and Quality, said the strategy will also helpaccelerate the formation of a national standard system to promote technologicalinnovation and raise the productivity and quality of goods.
It will prescribe basic principles and orientations,build a master action programme, and develop mid- and long-term standard systemsat the national or global levels, Hiep continued.
According to Pham Thao Phuong, deputy head of thedepartment of standards under the Directorate for Standards, Metrology andQuality, the strategy sets the specific targets like issuing Vietnamesestandards for national and key products, and raising Vietnam’s harmonisationrate with international, regional and foreign standards to at least 65% by2025 and 70-75% by 2030.
As Vietnam is integrating into the global economy and has become a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) forum, as well as new-generation free trade agreements, the country hasto observe stringent regulations and requirements on technical standards inforeign markets.
In fact, Vietnamese goods draw warnings from foreigncountries repeatedly due to their failure in satisfying technical standards andbarriers set by importers.
The Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary NotificationAuthority and Enquiry Point (SPS Vietnam) under the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development reported that last year it received nearly 1,000 noticesrelating to food safety and animal and plant quarantine. The complaints are up10% year-on-year, mostly from Japan with 83 notices, followed by Brazil, theEU, Canada, and the US.
Over the past time, the Party and the Governmenthave issued many guidelines, policies and mechanisms aiming to step up thebuilding of standards, making them an effective tool in sustainablesocio-economic development and improving national competitiveness.
However, limitations still remain in the standardisationprocess due to the lack of attention, incentives and data, along with difficultiesrelating to personnel and equipment./.
VNA
