Hanoi, Vietnam – Aiming to address surrounding concerns in the e-commerce marketplace, Vietnam’s ministry of industry and trade has recently expressed its intention to prioritise implementing measures that combat fake goods and counterfeit items.
This announcement was made at the 36th session of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee in Hà Nội on August 21.
During the session, Chu Thị Hồng Thái, deputy from the Lạng Sơn Province, raised concerns about the shortcomings in the country’s efforts to curb smuggling and counterfeit goods.
According to Thai, this concern was based on the general secretary of the national assembly report, which revealed that preventing and combating smuggling and counterfeit goods has not been totally effective, thereby still being sold widely with increasingly sophisticated tricks, mainly in cyberspace.
He then urged the ministry to adopt stringent sanctions to prevent violations of goods’ origin and a roadmap for the implementation of the sanctions.
Addressing the concern, Nguyễn Hồng Diên, Minister of Industry and Trade, emphasised the importance of preventing and combating trade fraud, stating, “Recently, MoIT has coordinated with relevant agencies to advise competent authorities to issue many mechanisms and policies to improve the effectiveness of this work.”
Diên also mentioned the measures that the ministry has undertaken, including the issuance of the Law on Consumer Protection. This move is an initiative against counterfeit and poor-quality goods, amendments to and supplements to regulations on penalties in traditional trade and e-commerce.
The ministry further adopted a mechanism for receiving and handling information about counterfeit and poor-quality goods through the e-commerce management and protection of consumer rights portal.
This national portal is managed by the Vietnam E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
Additionally, they have also coordinated with other forces in preventing and combating commercial fraud, such as the police, border guards, customs, and members of the National Steering Committee against Smuggling, Counterfeit Goods, and Trade Fraud in localities. This move is aimed at requesting e-commerce websites to review and remove thousands of fake and poor-quality goods with numerous violations.
Furthermore, the ministry has also enhanced its efforts to educate consumers on identifying violations and has developed a database for sharing the information with relevant agencies. These agencies include the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the State Bank, and the Ministry of Finance.
Moving forward, Dien also said that they will continue to work together with competent authorities to revise and enhance penalty regulations for commercial violations to ensure the protection of consumer rights, particularly in e-commerce.
The ministry will further execute the Prime Minister’s project to combat counterfeit and substandard goods. It will also enhance the portal’s effectiveness for handling and processing information on commercial fraud violations, boosting public awareness efforts to educate consumers about counterfeit and low-quality products.
